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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 19 (Thursday, January 30, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8528-8530]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-01940]

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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION

[File No. 242 3052]

General Motors and OnStar, LLC; Analysis of Proposed Consent 
Order To Aid Public Comment

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.

ACTION: Proposed consent agreement; request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The consent agreement in this matter settles alleged 
violations of

[[Page 8529]]

Federal law prohibiting unfair or deceptive acts or practices. The 
attached Analysis of Proposed Consent Order to Aid Public Comment 
describes both the allegations in the complaint and the terms of the 
consent order--embodied in the consent agreement--that would settle 
these allegations.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before March 3, 2025.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties may file comments online or on paper by 
following the instructions in the Request for Comment part of the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. Please write ``GM and OnStar; 
File No. 242 3052'' on your comment and file your comment online at 
https://www.regulations.gov by following the instructions on the web-
based form. If you prefer to file your comment on paper, please mail 
your comment to: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, 600 
Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Mail Stop H-144 (Annex L), Washington, DC 
20580.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amy Teng (206-220-4482), Breena Roos 
(206-220-4472), and Sarah Shifley (202-220-4475), Northwest Region, 
Federal Trade Commission, 915 Second Ave., Room 2896, Seattle, WA 
98174.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to section 6(f) of the Federal 
Trade Commission Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Rule Sec.  2.34, 16 CFR 
2.34, notice is hereby given that the above-captioned consent agreement 
containing a consent order to cease and desist, having been filed with 
and accepted, subject to final approval, by the Commission, has been 
placed on the public record for a period of 30 days. The following 
Analysis to Aid Public Comment describes the terms of the consent 
agreement and the allegations in the complaint. An electronic copy of 
the full text of the consent agreement package can be obtained at 
https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/commission-actions.
    You can file a comment online or on paper. For the Commission to 
consider your comment, we must receive it on or before March 3, 2025. 
Write ``GM and OnStar; File No. 242 3052'' on your comment. Your 
comment--including your name and your State--will be placed on the 
public record of this proceeding, including, to the extent practicable, 
on the https://www.regulations.gov website.
    Because of heightened security screening, postal mail addressed to 
the Commission will be subject to delay. We strongly encourage you to 
submit your comments online through the https://www.regulations.gov 
website. If you prefer to file your comment on paper, write ``GM and 
OnStar; File No. 242 3052'' on your comment and on the envelope, and 
send it via overnight service to: Federal Trade Commission, Office of 
the Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Mail Stop H-144 (Annex L), 
Washington, DC 20580.
    Because your comment will be placed on the publicly accessible 
website at https://www.regulations.gov, you are solely responsible for 
making sure your comment does not include any sensitive or confidential 
information. In particular, your comment should not include sensitive 
personal information, such as your or anyone else's Social Security 
number; date of birth; driver's license number or other State 
identification number, or foreign country equivalent; passport number; 
financial account number; or credit or debit card number. You are also 
solely responsible for making sure your comment does not include 
sensitive health information, such as medical records or other 
individually identifiable health information. In addition, your comment 
should not include any ``trade secret or any commercial or financial 
information which . . . is privileged or confidential''--as provided by 
section 6(f) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Rule Sec.  
4.10(a)(2), 16 CFR 4.10(a)(2)--including competitively sensitive 
information such as costs, sales statistics, inventories, formulas, 
patterns, devices, manufacturing processes, or customer names.
    Comments containing material for which confidential treatment is 
requested must be filed in paper form, must be clearly labeled 
``Confidential,'' and must comply with FTC Rule Sec.  4.9(c). In 
particular, the written request for confidential treatment that 
accompanies the comment must include the factual and legal basis for 
the request and must identify the specific portions of the comment to 
be withheld from the public record. See FTC Rule Sec.  4.9(c). Your 
comment will be kept confidential only if the General Counsel grants 
your request in accordance with the law and the public interest. Once 
your comment has been posted on the https://www.regulations.gov 
website--as legally required by FTC Rule Sec.  4.9(b)--we cannot redact 
or remove your comment from that website, unless you submit a 
confidentiality request that meets the requirements for such treatment 
under FTC Rule Sec.  4.9(c), and the General Counsel grants that 
request.
    Visit the FTC website at https://www.ftc.gov to read this document 
and the news release describing the proposed settlement. The FTC Act 
and other laws the Commission administers permit the collection of 
public comments to consider and use in this proceeding, as appropriate. 
The Commission will consider all timely and responsive public comments 
it receives on or before March 3, 2025. For information on the 
Commission's privacy policy, including routine uses permitted by the 
Privacy Act, see https://www.ftc.gov/site-information/privacy-policy.

Analysis of Proposed Consent Order To Aid Public Comment

    The Federal Trade Commission (``Commission'') has accepted, subject 
to final approval, an agreement containing a consent order from General 
Motors LLC, General Motors Holdings LLC, and OnStar, LLC (collectively 
``Respondents''). The proposed consent order (``Proposed Order'') has 
been placed on the public record for 30 days for receipt of public 
comments from interested persons. Comments received during this period 
will become part of the public record. After 30 days, the Commission 
will again review the agreement, along with the comments received, and 
will decide whether it should make the Proposed Order final or withdraw 
from the agreement and take appropriate action.
    Respondent General Motors LLC is a Delaware limited liability 
company with its principal office or place of business at 300 
Renaissance Center in Detroit, Michigan 48243. General Motors LLC is a 
wholly owned subsidiary of General Motors Company, a Delaware 
corporation. Respondent General Motors Holdings LLC is a Delaware 
limited liability company with its principal office or place of 
business at 300 Renaissance Center in Detroit, Michigan 48243. General 
Motors Holdings LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of General Motors 
Company, a Delaware corporation. Respondent OnStar, LLC is a Delaware 
limited liability company with its principal office or place of 
business at 400 Renaissance Center in Detroit, Michigan. OnStar, LLC is 
a wholly owned subsidiary of General Motors Company, a Delaware 
corporation 48243. Respondents manufacture and sell vehicles under the 
Chevrolet, GMC, Cadillac, and Buick brands (collectively, the ``GM-
branded'' vehicles) in the United States. Respondents offer connected 
car services for GM-branded vehicles under the OnStar brand.
    Respondents collect precise geolocation and driver behavior data 
from the GM-branded vehicles and then use and sell that data to third 
parties. Respondents do not obtain consumers'

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specific consent for using precise geolocation and driver behavior data 
and sell that same data to third parties, including consumer reporting 
agencies that compile consumer reports with the data for insurance 
purposes. As a result of these practices, consumers have experienced 
loss of auto insurance coverage, unexpected increases in insurance 
premiums, as well as the loss of privacy about sensitive locations they 
visit and their day-to-day movements.
    The Commission's proposed a two-count complaint alleges that 
Respondents violated section 5(a) of the FTC Act by (1) unfairly using 
and disclosing precise geolocation and driver behavior data without 
taking reasonable steps to obtain consumers' affirmative express 
consent prior to collection, and (2) deceptively failing to disclose 
Respondents' uses and disclosure of that same data. With respect to the 
first count, the proposed complaint alleges that Respondents do not 
obtain affirmative express consent to sell consumers' precise 
geolocation and driver behavior data to third parties, including 
consumer reporting agencies. The proposed complaint alleges that this 
practice caused, or is likely to cause, substantial injury to consumers 
that is not outweighed by countervailing benefits to consumers or 
competition and is not reasonably avoidable by consumers themselves. 
With respect to the second count, the proposed complaint alleges that 
Respondents' failure to disclose their actual use and sharing of 
drivers' precise geolocation and driver behavior data was deceptive; 
Respondents did not disclose to consumers that it would be sharing this 
data with third parties, including consumer reporting agencies for 
insurance purposes, which led to consumers being denied auto insurance 
coverage and having their auto insurance premiums increased.

Summary of Proposed Order With Respondents

    The Proposed Order contains injunctive relief designed to prevent 
Respondents from engaging in the same or similar acts or practices in 
the future. Provision I prohibits Respondents for five years from 
sharing certain geolocation and driver behavior data with consumer 
reporting agencies. Provision II requires Respondents to obtain 
affirmative express consent prior to the collection, use, and sharing 
of certain geolocation and driver behavior data. This provision 
includes carve-outs for, among other things, responding to consumer-
initiated communication, safety-enhancing research and development, 
diagnostics and prognostics, and providing necessary information in 
case of an emergency. Provision III requires that Respondents provide 
consumers the ability to withhold or withdraw affirmative express 
consent to the collection, use, and sharing of certain geolocation and 
driver behavior data. Provision IV limits Respondents' data collection 
to that which is reasonably necessary to fulfill the specific purpose 
for which it was collected.
    Provision V requires Respondents to create a retention schedule for 
certain geolocation and driver behavior data they collect that is tied 
to the purpose for which the data is collected, the business need for 
retaining it, and the timeframe for deleting it. Provision VI requires 
Respondents to delete certain geolocation and driver behavior data 
previously collected without consumers' affirmative express consent. It 
also provides Respondents the opportunity to obtain consumers' 
affirmative express consent to retain previously collected geolocation 
and driver behavior data. This provision includes exceptions for 
safety, warranties, prognostics and diagnostics, legal or regulatory 
requirements, and research and development. Provision VII requires 
Respondents to provide all consumers the ability to request a copy of 
their geolocation and driver behavior data and to request that such 
data be deleted. Provision VIII requires Respondents to request third 
parties with whom it has previously shared certain geolocation and 
driver behavior data to delete that data and to not engage in further 
sharing with third parties that fail to respond to such requests. 
Provision IX requires Respondents to ensure consumers can disable 
collection of precise geolocation data from their vehicles. The 
provision includes exceptions for emergency response and responding to 
consumer-initiated requests. Provision X provides consumers the ability 
to fully opt out of collection of all data with narrow exclusions for 
consumer-initiated communication, safety, and over-the-air updates. 
This provision is unique to the Proposed Order. Provision XI prohibits 
Respondents from misrepresenting information regarding their 
collection, use, sharing, and deletion of consumers' geolocation and 
driver behavior data.
    Provisions XII-XV are reporting and compliance provisions, which 
include recordkeeping requirements and provisions requiring Respondents 
to provide information or documents necessary for the Commission to 
monitor compliance. Provision XVI states that the Proposed Order will 
remain in effect for 20 years, with certain exceptions.
    The purpose of this analysis is to facilitate public comment on the 
Proposed Order, and it is not intended to constitute an official 
interpretation of the complaint or Proposed Order, or to modify the 
Proposed Order's terms in any way.

    By direction of the Commission.
Joel Christie,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2025-01940 Filed 1-29-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P
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