GM to pay over $12 million in California privacy settlement involving driver data
GM to pay over $12 million in California privacy settlement involving driver data
https://therecord.media/gm-to-pay-12-million-california-privacy-settlement
Publish Date: 2026-05-08 15:42:00
Source Domain: therecord.media
General Motors agreed to pay $12.75 million as part of settlement with the state of California over charges that it violated millions of consumers’ privacy by collecting and storing driving information without their consent and selling it to data brokers.
The settlement, announced by California officials Friday, is the largest fine issued under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) in its more than five-year history. Under California law, firms can only collect data they need and must tell consumers how their data is used.
In addition to the financial penalty, the settlement requires GM to pause sales of driving data to consumer reporting agencies, including data brokers, for five years.
The car manufacturer also agreed to delete driving data after 180 days without the affirmative consent of consumers and to ask two data brokers — Verisk and LexisNexis Risk Solutions — to delete the data it sold to them.
The settlement additionally requires GM to establish a privacy program to analyze, fix and document risks related to collecting data from its OnStar product, which is at the center of the data sales scheme California probed. The assessments must be reported to California prosecutors and the California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA), according to a CPPA press release.
The settlement will not become final until a court signs off on the deal.
“General Motors sold the data of California drivers without their knowledge or consent and despite numerous statements reassuring drivers that it would not do so,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement. “This trove of information included precise and personal location data that could identify the everyday habits and movements of Californians.”
“Companies can’t just hold on to data and use it later for another purpose.”
A spokesperson for GM said in a statement that it stopped offering the product the settlement addresses in 2024 and it has strengthened its privacy…
