General Motors settles lawsuit over selling customer driving data

Key Points:

• General Motors has agreed to pay $12.75 million in penalties to settle a two-year legal battle with California prosecutors over the alleged misuse of customer driving data.
• The California Attorney General accused GM of selling personal data, including names, contact information, geolocation, and driving behavior, of hundreds of thousands of Californians to data brokers like Verisk Analytics and LexisNexis Risk Solutions.
• The investigation found that California drivers were not directly harmed since state laws prohibit insurers from using driving data to set insurance rates, despite initial concerns about potential insurance discrimination.
• As part of the settlement, GM will cease selling driving data to consumer reporting agencies for five years, delete existing data within 180 days unless permitted by drivers, and implement a privacy program to manage data collection and security risks.
• Despite the settlement, GM reportedly earned approximately $20 million from selling OnStar data, indicating they remain profitable from these activities even after paying the penalties.