General Motors to pay $12.75 million in driver data privacy settlement
General Motors to pay $12.75 million in driver data privacy settlement
Publish Date: 2026-05-16 01:17:00
Source Domain: www.cbs8.com
General Motors agreed to pay $12.75 million after California accused the company of collecting and selling drivers’ location and driving behavior data.
SAN DIEGO — California investigators accused General Motors of collecting and selling drivers’ geo-location and driving behavior data through its OnStar system without properly informing customers or giving them a chance to opt out.
Now, the automaker has agreed to pay $12.75 million and stop sharing certain driver data with consumer reporting agencies for five years as part of a settlement that is raising broader questions about privacy in modern vehicles.
The lawsuit claims GM used its OnStar roadside assistance and navigation system to collect and sell driver data to third-party brokers without consent. Investigators say the company made about $20 million from those sales between 2020 and 2024.
To better understand what information modern cars can collect, News 8 spoke with cybersecurity expert Nikolas Behar.
Behar said modern cars can collect large amounts of information through their infotainment systems.
“Everything’s connected, how fast you’re going, what you’re listening to, where you’re going, the GPS, who’s in the car, how many people are in the car, what temperature,” Behar said. “Because all of these things are controlled through the infotainment system, which is just one big computer.”
The lawsuit says GM sold driving behavior and geo-location data to two data brokers, who then offered it to car insurance companies. Investigators say that data could then be used to adjust insurance rates based on driving habits.
“Cars, apps and insurers and data brokers, they’re…
