California penalizes General Motors $12.75M for selling drivers’ data
California Attorney General Rob Bonta has reached a $12.75 million settlement with General Motors over the car company’s violation of the state’s privacy and anti-competition laws.
An investigation by the state AG’s office, several district attorneys and California’s privacy regulator found General Motors sold hundreds of thousands of California drivers’ data to two data brokers between 2020 and 2024, without the drivers’ knowledge. The sales were part of a larger nationwide sale of customers’ data to two data brokers, Verisk Analytics, Inc., and LexisNexis Risk Solutions.
The investigation’s findings echo those of a 2024 New York Times report that revealed drivers’ insurance prices were increasing based on data they didn’t know General Motors was collecting. The California Privacy Protection Agency had begun an investigation into automakers’ data collection practices at the time the article was published.
Unlike drivers in other states, California drivers’ wallets didn’t seem to be affected by the data sharing, due to a 1988 law Californians passed called Proposition 103, which prohibits insurance companies from setting rates based on driver data. However, Bonta said the settlement is a warning to other companies not to violate California’s privacy laws.
“If we get word that a company is illegally collecting, storing or selling consumer data, we won’t hesitate to look under the hood and hold them accountable to the law,” he said during a news conference Friday.
In January, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission finalized an order preventing GM from disclosing customer data to third parties for five years. It also required the company to allow customers to opt out of data collection, obtain data reports and get their data deleted. Many of those same provisions are included in California’s settlement. Bonta said the financial penalties are the largest the California Consumer Privacy Act has elicited since the law was put into place in 2018.
“The combination of the penalties and more importantly, with the injunctive relief, we feel very confident that it will stop the conduct from happening again,” the attorney general said.
General Motors said Friday they had discontinued the Smart Driver product that was addressed in the agreement, and they have taken steps to strengthen privacy practices.
“Vehicle connectivity is central to a modern and safe driving experience, which is why we’re committed to being clear and transparent with our customers about our practices and the choices and control they have over their information,” General Motors spokesperson Charlotte McCoy said via email.
This story was originally published May 8, 2026 at 2:04 PM with the headline "California penalizes General Motors $12.75M for selling drivers’ data."
