Monday, May 11, 2026
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GM Agrees to Settle Consumer Lawsuit Over Sale of Data on Motorists for $12.75 Million
Auto-Maker Is Alleged to Have Secretly Collected Information and Unlawfully Sold It to Brokers, Including Lexis
By a MetNews Staff Writer
General Motors on Friday agreed, in a proposed settlement of a consumer-protection lawsuit filed the same day, to pay $12.75 million in civil penalties based on selling to brokers driving data relating to hundreds of thousands of OnStar subscribers, in alleged violation of California laws.
The settlement, which entails no admission of fault by GM, is subject to court approval.
Bringing the action, filed in Napa Superior Court, were the Attorney General’s Office and the district attorneys of four counties, including Los Angeles.
Allegations of Complaint
The complaint, signed by Deputy Attorney General Micah C.E. Osgood of San Francisco, sets forth:
“Recently, an automative journalist updated a classic 1990s phrase with a salient change—the ‘new information superhighway’ isn’t the internet, but ‘how your car spies on you.’. This consumer protection privacy case arises from GM’s practice of collecting, hoarding, and then secretly selling California consumers’ personal information and driving data. From 2016 to 2024. GM collected and kept driver- and driving-related data from hundreds of thousands of Californians who had subscribed to OnStar. a vehicle connectivity sendee offered by GM. This data included names, phone numbers, home addresses, speeds, rapid acceleration, and hard braking, as well as the GPS location of where OnStar subscribers drove and parked their vehicles.
“In 2020, GM began selling much of this information to two data brokers. LexisNexis Risk Solutions…and Verisk Analytics. Inc….., who worked to develop a product for auto insurers that rated drivers based on driving behavior. Because this type of ‘usage-based insurance’ is illegal in California, in-state insurers did not use this product, sparing Golden State residents from unexpected increases in premiums that appears to have occurred in other States.”
‘Reams of Data’
The journalist who is quoted is Derek Kravitz, who wrote in “Consumer Reports,” an online service, on March 4, 2025:
“If you drive a car made in the past five years, chances are it’s collecting reams of data about your driving-things like how quickly you accelerate, how hard you hit the brakes, and how fast you turn corners.”
It was a March 11, 2024 article in the New York that sparked the investigation by the Attorney General’s Office and the district attorneys. That newspaper reported that “automakers are sharing consumers’ driving behavior with insurance companies.”
Already probing the matter was the California Privacy Protection Agency (“CalPrivacy”).
Settlement Terms
The proposed settlement provides that “GM shall pay a total of $12,750,000 in civil penalties” under provisions of the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 and the Unfair Competition Law, adding:
“Payment shall be made by wire transfer to the ‘California Attorney General’s Office’ pursuant to instructions provided by the California Attorney General’s Office, no later than thirty (30) days after the Effective Date.”
That office, in turn, “shall deposit or disburse the civil penalties as required by law,” with a portion being “disbursed to the District Attorney’s Offices, as a result of the joint investigation.”
Ten percent of the money— $1,275,000—will go into the treasury of Los Angeles County.
Representing Los Angeles County were Assistant Head Deputy District Attorney Steven Wang and Deputy District Attorney Louis Morin of the Consumer Protection Division.
CalPrivacy will receive half of the funds, with 10% going into the treasuries of the other counties the district attorneys of which participated in the action—San Francisco, Napa, and Sonoma—and 10% to the Unfair Competition Law Fund.
Hochman Comments
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman released a statement saying:
“This settlement makes clear that car companies cannot secretly speed off with your personal data for profit. Consumers have a fundamental privacy right to control their personal information, and this right does not stop at a car door.”
He counseled:
“Your data isn’t free, and no one has the right to sell your data without your consent. I encourage California consumers to read the fine print and exercise your right to stop companies from collecting, sharing or selling your data.”
Attorney General Rob Bonta commented:
“Today’s settlement requires General Motors to abandon [its] illegal practices and underscores the importance of the data minimization in California’s privacy law—companies can’t just hold on to data and use it later for another purpose. I am proud to go to bat for the privacy rights of Californians and to collaborate with state and local partners who share the same commitment to consumer protection.”
The case is People v. General Motors LLC, 26CV001011.
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