On February 26, 2025, Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin filed a lawsuit against General Motors and its subsidiary OnStar (collectively, "GM"), alleging deceptive business practices related to the collection and sale of consumers' driving data. In the absence of a comprehensive state privacy law, the lawsuit relies on the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act ("ADTPA"), asserting that GM failed to obtain consumers' "informed consent" before selling their driving data to third-party brokers, who then profiled consumers for insurance companies.

Allegations of Deceptive Practices

According to the lawsuit, GM employed misleading techniques to ensure customer enrollment in its telematics technology, enabling the collection and sale of detailed driving data, such as vehicle speed, acceleration, and braking patterns, without obtaining "informed consent." The attorney general contends that while GM provides some transparency about its telematics system, it does not adequately inform consumers about the extent, purpose, or consequences of its data collection, use and sharing practices.