Following the settlement with the FTC earlier this year over selling drivers’ data to brokers, General Motors has now also reached a settlement in California. The company agreed to pay $12.75 million in civil penalties to settle the lawsuit led by Attorney General Rob Bonta on behalf of the people of California, and is banned from selling driving data to consumer reporting agencies for five years. Lawsuits come after 2024 new York Times The report revealed that GM collected consumers’ driving data through its OnStar program and sold this information to data brokers Verisk Analytics and LexisNexis Risk Solutions, who could in turn market the data to auto insurers.
In some cases, that driving data can be used by insurers to raise customers’ rates. However, in California, customers were likely spared this outcome, as laws in the state prevent insurers from using driving data in this way. Nevertheless, the complaint alleges that GM violated consumers’ privacy by selling non-consensual data that includes people’s names, contact information, geolocation data and driving behavior data.
The settlement agreement states that GM must delete any driving data it holds within 180 days “except for certain limited internal uses” unless it has the customer’s express consent. It also requires GM to develop a privacy program to assess the risks of collecting data through OnStar and report its findings to the DOJ and other agencies. In a statement Friday, Bonta said, “Today’s settlement requires General Motors to abandon these illegal practices and underscores the importance of data minimization in California privacy law – companies cannot simply retain data and later use it for another purpose.”
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