Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen on April 8, 2026, issued what the state describes as its first civil investigative demands against two major automotive manufacturers - Ford Motor Company and Stellantis N.V. - over the collection and sale of personal driving data to third-party companies. The demands, issued under the Montana Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Act, mark a significant escalation in state-level scrutiny of connected vehicle data practices and add a new jurisdiction to an already crowded regulatory landscape facing the automotive industry. The documents, nine pages in total for the Ford demand alone, were sent from the Montana Department of Justice, Office of Consumer Protection, to Ford Motor Company's commercial registered agent, CT Corporation System, at 3011 American Way in Missoula, Montana. The deputy solicitor general who signed both demands is Brent Mead, reachable at [email protected]. Ford has until 5:00 p.m. MDT on May 8, 2026, to respond. What the demands cover The scope of information sought is broad. According to the investigative demand for Ford, the state is commanding the company to produce documents covering four categories of data: Driving Data, Personal Information, Connected Vehicle Data, and Telematics Data. Each term is defined with legal precision. "Connected Vehicle Data," for instance, means "all information or data generated by or collected from a vehicle, vehicle systems, sensors, telematics control units, embedded modems, infotainment systems, or companion applications." That definition encompasses data collected about both the vehicle and the person driving it, "regardless of whether de-identified or anonymized." The demand defines "Telematics Data" specifically as connected vehicle data used to "infer or score driving behavior." That framing is significant - it brings into scope the raw sensor outputs that underpin usage-based insurance (UBI) programs, where insurers set premiums based on how a driver accelerates, brakes, or corners.