Senators Unveil Minimal Profits from Automakers Selling Drivers’ Data to Brokers

U.S. senators reveal minimal profits from GM, Honda, and Hyundai selling driving data to brokers, calling for an FTC investigation into the practice.

Key Points

• Automakers GM, Honda, and Hyundai sold driving data to broker Verisk for minimal profits.
• Verisk used the data to help auto insurers assign risk scores.
• Honda received 26 cents per car, while Hyundai earned 61 cents per car.
• GM’s data sale details remain undisclosed, though over 8 million cars were involved.
• Senators urge the FTC to investigate the data-selling practice and hold executives accountable.

If you drive a car capable of connecting to the internet, it’s likely that the manufacturer has been collecting and selling data based on your driving habits to third-party data brokers. This practice was detailed in a March report by the New York Times, and now a letter by U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Edward J. Markey to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sheds light on just how little profit manufacturers actually made from these data sales.

The senators focused on three major automakers: General Motors (GM), Honda, and Hyundai. All three companies sold data to the data broker Verisk, which then provided this information to auto insurers for the purpose of assigning risk scores to drivers. According to the senators’ letter, Verisk operated a product that rated driving habits using data from internet-connected cars until it was shut down following the New York Times report.

A striking revelation from the letter is the meager profits the automakers garnered from these transactions. Investigations by Senator Wyden’s office revealed that Verisk paid Honda $25,920 over four years for data on 97,000 cars, equating to just 26 cents per car. Hyundai received a little over $1 million for data on approximately 1.7 million cars over six years, amounting to 61 cents per car. While GM did not disclose its earnings, a recent New York Times report suggests the company sold data from over 8 million cars.

“Companies should not be selling Americans’ data without their consent, period,” the senators wrote. “But it is particularly insulting for automakers that are selling cars for tens of thousands of dollars to then squeeze out a few additional pennies of profit with consumers’ private data.”

The letter also highlights the customer consent process. GM and Honda required customers to opt-in for data sharing, though Senator Wyden described this process as “deceptive.” Hyundai, however, confirmed that customers who enabled internet access in their vehicles were automatically enrolled to share their data with Verisk.

Following the New York Times report in March, Verisk shut down its data collection program in April, providing some relief for drivers concerned about their data being sold to insurance companies. The senators concluded their letter by urging the FTC to investigate this practice within the automotive industry and hold senior executives accountable for any misuse of consumer data.