Settlement marks the largest penalty under California’s Consumer Privacy Act for selling driver data without consent.
General Motors will pay $12.75 million to settle allegations it sold driving and location data of California OnStar subscribers to data brokers without disclosure. The agreement, pending court approval, resolves a probe into transactions from 2020 to 2024 involving hundreds of thousands of residents.
The state alleged GM earned approximately $20 million nationwide from selling data, including GPS coordinates and driving behavior, to Verisk Analytics and LexisNexis Risk Solutions. Investigators found GM misled consumers by stating data would only be used for OnStar services, contradicting its privacy policy.
California law prohibits insurers from using such data for rate-setting, preventing premium increases for affected policyholders despite the brokers’ intent to score drivers.