{"id":243692,"date":"2026-05-11T10:27:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T14:27:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/11\/gm-pays-record-12-75m-california-privacy-penalty-for-secret-onstar-data-sales\/"},"modified":"2026-05-11T10:50:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T14:50:08","slug":"gm-pays-record-12-75m-california-privacy-penalty-for-secret-onstar-data-sales","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/11\/gm-pays-record-12-75m-california-privacy-penalty-for-secret-onstar-data-sales\/","title":{"rendered":"GM Pays Record $12.75M California Privacy Penalty for Secret OnStar Data Sales"},"content":{"rendered":"

GM Pays Record $12.75M California Privacy Penalty for Secret OnStar Data Sales<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.gadgetreview.com\/gm-pays-record-12-75m-california-privacy-penalty-for-secret-onstar-data-sales<\/a><\/p>\n

Publish Date: 2026-05-11 10:27:00<\/a><\/p>\n

Source Domain: www.gadgetreview.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Your car knows where you live, where you work, how fast you take corners, and exactly how hard you slam the brakes when that cyclist appears out of nowhere. General Motors thought it could sell all that intimate driving data without telling you\u2014and just paid the largest privacy fine in California history to learn otherwise.<\/p>\n

California Cracks Down on Automotive Surveillance<\/h2>\n

GM secretly monetized hundreds of thousands of OnStar subscribers\u2019 driving habits and locations.<\/p>\n

Between 2020 and 2024<\/strong>, GM collected a staggering trove of personal information from OnStar users: names, phone numbers, home addresses, GPS coordinates, vehicle speeds, rapid acceleration events, and hard braking incidents. The company then sold this data to LexisNexis Risk Solutions<\/strong> and Verisk Analytics<\/strong>\u2014data brokers who compile reports for insurance companies\u2014generating approximately $20 million<\/strong> nationwide.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the kicker: GM explicitly promised OnStar subscribers it wouldn\u2019t sell their driving or location data. The service was supposed to help with emergencies and navigation, not become a surveillance revenue stream. California Attorney General Rob Bonta didn\u2019t mince words: \u201cGeneral Motors sold the data of California drivers without their knowledge or consent and despite numerous statements reassuring drivers that it would not do so.\u201d<\/p>\n

What the $12.75M Settlement Actually Gets You<\/h2>\n

The penalty comes with concrete protections that go beyond just writing a check.<\/p>\n

The settlement\u2014nearly five times larger<\/strong> than the previous CCPA record set by Disney\u2014forces GM to halt data sales to consumer reporting agencies for five years<\/strong>. The company must delete all retained driver data within 180 days<\/strong> unless users give explicit consent to keep it.<\/p>\n

GM also faces enhanced oversight requirements:<\/p>\n