GM settles California lawsuit over OnStar driving data sales
GM reaches California settlement over OnStar data practices
General Motors has settled a California lawsuit over allegations that it collected and sold customer driving data through its OnStar service without consent, marking another legal blow for the automaker after an earlier settlement with the Federal Trade Commission.
Under the agreement announced Friday, GM will pay $12.75 million in civil penalties and is barred from selling driving data to consumer reporting agencies for five years. The case, brought by California Attorney General Rob Bonta on behalf of the people of California, followed a 2024 New York Times report that detailed how GM gathered drivers’ information through OnStar and sold it to data brokers Verisk Analytics and LexisNexis Risk Solutions. Those brokers could then market the data to auto insurers.
The complaint said the data included names, contact information, geolocation data and driving behavior data. In some states, insurers could use that information to raise customers’ rates. California residents were likely shielded from that outcome because state law prohibits insurers from using driving data in that way, but the lawsuit said GM still violated privacy rules by selling the data without consent.
The settlement also requires GM to delete any driving data it has retained within 180 days, except for limited internal uses, unless the company gets a customer’s express consent. In addition, GM must create a privacy program to evaluate the risks of collecting data through OnStar and report its findings to the Department of Justice and other agencies.
Bonta said in a statement that the settlement forces GM to end the practices and reinforces California’s data minimization rules, which limit how companies can hold on to information and reuse it later for a different purpose.
Sources:
Read more tech news on the Doppler VPN Blog.