- California AG Rob Bonta, with several California district attorneys and investigative support from the California Privacy Protection Agency, reached a $12.75 million settlement with General Motors and OnStar resolving allegations that the companies violated the various state consumer protection laws by selling consumers’ driving and location data without adequate notice or consent.
- According to the complaint, GM collected OnStar and Smart Driver data from hundreds of thousands of Californians and sold it to data brokers to develop driver-rating products for auto insurers, while allegedly misleading consumers about how their data would be used and failing to provide required CCPA notices, opt-out rights, and the ability to limit the use or disclosure of sensitive personal information.
- Under the proposed final judgment, GM must pay $12.75 million in civil penalties, stop selling covered driving data to consumer reporting agencies for five years, delete or destroy certain previously retained driving data, and maintain a CCPA compliance program.
- California’s settlement follows related federal and state actions over GM’s alleged collection and sale of driver data, including a previously reported FTC settlement and lawsuits filed by the AGs of Iowa, Texas, Arkansas, and Nebraska.