TLDR: General Motors transformed the American pastime of driving into a relentless surveillance operation that harvested the private movements of millions of people. They tracked vehicles with extreme precision, recording locations every three seconds down to a few inches. This invasive data collection allowed the corporation to watch drivers as they visited hospitals, offices, and their own homes. General Motors then sold this intimate map of American life to data brokers and insurance companies to maximize corporate revenue. 💰
🔍 Inside the Corporate Misconduct
General Motors built a massive data-mining machine that treated vehicle owners as products rather than customers. By equipping cars with advanced connectivity, the corporation enabled software “tasks” that began recording the moment a driver turned the key. 🔑 These programs captured every hard brake, every fast acceleration, and even whether or not someone wore a seatbelt.
📅 Timeline of the Surveillance Scheme
| Date | Event |
| 1996 | OnStar connected services launch in vehicles. |
| 2015 | General Motors equips cars with 4G LTE to increase data extraction capacity. |
| 2016 | The company signs a deal with Verisk Analytics to trade driver data. |
| 2018 | Internal focus shifts to “data monetization” for external profit. |
| 2019 | A new contract begins with Lexis Nexis to sell detailed driving behavior. |
| Late 2023 | The company markets the tracking feature as a game for drivers to play. |
| March 20, 2024 | Data sharing with major consumer reporting agencies ends after public scrutiny. |
| April 5, 2024 | The company finally stops sending driver data to consulting firms. |
| June 26, 2024 | The tracking feature is officially removed from vehicle mobile apps. |
| January 13, 2026 | Federal regulators issue a formal complaint detailing the misconduct. |
🏗️ Profit-Maximization at All Costs
The endless drive for shareholder profit led GM to ignore the basic privacy rights of its customers. Under the logic of profit-maximization, every mile driven became a data point for sale. Executives openly discussed using vehicle connectivity to turn data into a financial asset.
This focus on the bottom line ignored the human cost of surveillance. The corporation prioritized its contracts with data brokers over the financial stability of the families buying its cars.
🏢 Corporate Spin Tactics
General Motors used deceptive marketing to hide its data-selling business. GM presented its tracking feature as a “Smart Driver” tool that would help people become better drivers. Enrollment screens used “one-click” buttons that bundled tracking with safety alerts, making it difficult for consumers to decline surveillance without losing emergency services.
Dealers received instructions to describe the tracking as a “maintenance” feature. This calculated deception ensured that millions of people remained unaware that their own cars were reporting their driving habits to insurance companies.
💸 The Economic Fallout for Families
The consequences of this surveillance were immediate and damaging for many Americans. Insurance companies used the data purchased from General Motors to deny coverage to safe drivers or to jack up monthly premiums. Drivers found themselves facing unexpected financial burdens because of “driving events” they never knew were being recorded. This extraction of wealth from consumers to insurance giants represents a direct hit to the financial welfare of the average household.
🏛️ Corporate Accountability and the Path Forward
This scandal illustrates the deep failures of a system that allows powerful corporations to police themselves. GM operated in a regulatory gray zone for years, collecting and selling data with minimal oversight. True reform requires strict transparency and the power for consumers to fully control their own information. Protecting the public means ending the practice of turning essential products like cars into predatory surveillance tools.
Here is a press release from the FTC’s website about this privacy breach if you’re up for fact checking the writer of your favorite website: https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2026/01/ftc-finalizes-order-settling-allegations-gm-onstar-collected-sold-geolocation-data-without-consumers
💡 Explore Corporate Misconduct by Category
Corporations harm people every day — from wage theft to pollution. Learn more by exploring key areas of injustice.
- 💀 Product Safety Violations — When companies risk lives for profit.
- 🌿 Environmental Violations — Pollution, ecological collapse, and unchecked greed.
- 💼 Labor Exploitation — Wage theft, worker abuse, and unsafe conditions.
- 🛡️ Data Breaches & Privacy Abuses — Misuse and mishandling of personal information.
- 💵 Financial Fraud & Corruption — Lies, scams, and executive impunity.
