GM agrees to pay $12.75M in California driver privacy settlement

General Motors has reached a privacy-related colony with a radical of instrumentality enforcement agencies led by California Attorney General Rob Bonta.

Back successful 2024, The New York Times reported that automakers including GM were sharing accusation astir their customers’ driving behaviour with security companies, and that immoderate customers were acrophobic that their security rates had gone up arsenic a result.

The colony announcement from Bonta’s bureau likewise alleges that GM sold “the names, interaction information, geolocation data, and driving behaviour information of hundreds of thousands of Californians” to Verisk Analytics and LexisNexis Risk Solutions, which are some information brokers.  Bonta’s bureau further alleges that this information was collected done GM’s OnStar program, and that the institution made astir $20 cardinal from information sales.

However, Bonta’s bureau besides said the information did not pb to accrued security prices successful California, “likely due to the fact that nether California’s security laws, insurers are prohibited from utilizing driving information to acceptable security rates.”

As portion of the settlement, GM has agreed to wage $12.75 cardinal successful civilian penalties and to halt selling driving information to immoderate user reporting agencies for 5 years, Bonta’s bureau said. GM has besides agreed to delete immoderate operator information that it inactive retains wrong 180 days (unless it obtains consent from customers), and to petition that Lexis and Verisk delete that data.

“General Motors sold the information of California drivers without their cognition oregon consent and contempt galore statements reassuring drivers that it would not bash so,” Bonta said successful a statement, adding that the colony “requires General Motors to wantonness these amerciable practices and underscores the value of the information minimization successful California’s privateness instrumentality — companies can’t conscionable clasp connected to information and usage it aboriginal for different purpose.”

GM had previously settled with the Federal Trade Commission implicit its information sales, with a last bid banning General Motors and OnStar from selling definite information with user reporting agencies.

GM told Reuters that the colony “addresses Smart Driver, a merchandise we discontinued successful 2024, and reinforces steps we’ve taken to fortify our privateness practices.”