In a letter to FTC Chairwoman Linda Khan, Democrats Ron Wyden of Oregon, and Edward Markey of Massachusetts allege that General Motors, Hyundai, Honda and perhaps others are sharing drivers' data, such as sudden braking and acceleration.The automakers, the senators said in a statement Friday, used deceptive tactics to manipulate customers into signing up for disclosure of the data to brokers.GM wouldn't say how many cars' data was sent to brokers or what it was paid, according to the letter.
Wyden's office found that Hyundai shared data from 1.7 million vehicles and was paid just over $1 million, while Honda got just under $26,000 for data from 97,000 vehicles, the senators said.In an email, GM denied that it deceived customers into enrolling in the data-sharing program with Verisk.Data-sharing partnerships with Verisk and LexisNexis were canceled in March, and its data-sharing program called “Smart Driver” ended in June, GM said.“Data was only shared with an insurer if a customer initiated a quote directly with their chosen carrier and provided a separate consent to that carrier,” the email said.In a statement, Hyundai said the senators' letter mischaracterizes its data policies and that it has safeguards to make sure customers agree to sharing driving information with insurers.Customers, it said, had the option to connect driving scores to their insurers through Verisk for possible benefits such as good-driving discounts.“It is important to note that Verisk was not authorized by Hyundai or the customer to share the Drive Score data with insurers until the customer affirmatively consented to this on an insurer's website or app,” Hyundai said.