Are you a California driver who’s owned aGeneral Motors vehicle— Chevrolet, GMC, Buick, Cadillac — in the last few years? Did you know your private driving habits might have been sold without your knowledge?
Owing to this breach of privacy, California just hit General Motors with a record privacy penalty to the tune of $12.5 million.
However, those sameCalifornia driversare not likely to receive a check in the mail, as this is a civil penalty paid to the state, with no direct consumer payout mentioned in the settlement.
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“General Motors sold the data of California drivers without their knowledge or consent and despite numerous statements reassuring drivers that it would not do so,”Bonta said in a statement.
“This trove of information included precise and personal location data that could identify the everyday habits and movements of Californians,” he added.
The California Post reached out to General Motors, who did not immediately return our request for comment.
From 2020 to 2024, GM collected names, contact info, geolocation and driving behavior (think hard braking, acceleration, speed) through its OnStar system — then sold this data on to third-party companies Verisk Analytics and LexisNexis Risk Solutions, reportedly earning about $20 million in the process.
Although a 2024 investigation byThe New York Timesfound that GM gathered and sold data pertaining to millions of drivers nationwide — with numerous consumers complaining ofspiking insurance premiums, likely as a result of this data breach — GM drivers in California did not see a similar insurance hikes because insurers in the state areprohibited from using driving datato set their rates.
As part of the settlement, subject to court approval, California is also imposing restrictions on the motor company: GM faces a five-year ban on selling consumer driving data to any data brokers and restricting how it uses the data going forward.
Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos
