GM agrees to pay $12.75M in California driver privacy settlement - BERITAJA

General Motors has reached a privacy-related colony pinch a group of rule enforcement agencies led by California Attorney General Rob Bonta.

Back successful 2024, The New York Times reported that automakers including GM were sharing accusation about their customers’ driving behaviour pinch security companies, and that immoderate customers were concerned that their security rates had gone up arsenic a result.

The colony announcement from Bonta’s agency likewise alleges that GM sold “the names, interaction information, geolocation data, and driving behaviour information of hundreds of thousands of Californians” to Verisk Analytics and LexisNexis Risk Solutions, which are some information brokers.  Bonta’s agency further alleges that this information was collected done GM’s OnStar program, and that the institution made about $20 cardinal from information sales.

However, Bonta’s agency besides said the information did not lead to accrued security prices successful California, “likely because nether California’s security laws, insurers are prohibited from utilizing driving information to group security rates.”

As portion of the settlement, GM has agreed to salary $12.75 cardinal successful civilian penalties and to extremity trading driving information to immoderate user reporting agencies for 5 years, Bonta’s agency said. GM has besides agreed to delete immoderate driver information that it still retains wrong 180 days (unless it obtains consent from customers), and to petition that Lexis and Verisk delete that data.

“General Motors sold the information of California drivers without their knowledge aliases consent and contempt galore statements reassuring drivers that it would not do so,” Bonta said successful a statement, adding that the colony “requires General Motors to wantonness these forbidden practices and underscores the value of the information minimization successful California’s privateness rule — companies can’t conscionable clasp connected to information and usage it later for different purpose.”

GM had previously settled pinch the Federal Trade Commission complete its information sales, pinch a last bid banning General Motors and OnStar from trading definite information pinch user reporting agencies.

GM told Reuters that the colony “addresses Smart Driver, a merchandise we discontinued successful 2024, and reinforces steps we’ve taken to fortify our privateness practices.”