General Motors to pay $12.5 million to settle claims it illegally sold California driver data
General Motors has agreed to pay $12.5 million to resolve allegations that the automaker illegally sold the location and driving data of hundreds of thousands of Californians, state officials said Friday.
The deal is an example of how automakers are facing increased scrutiny over allegations that they shared driver data with the insurance industry, influencing how much people pay for insurance coverage. But California has a law that prohibits insurance companies from using driving data to set rates.
“If we receive word that a company has illegally collected, stored or sold consumer data, we will not hesitate to investigate the incident and hold them accountable to the law,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said at a news conference.
The settlement is the largest California Consumer Privacy Act fine in state history, Bonta said.
The law gives consumers in California the right to request that businesses disclose what data they collect. They can also opt out of sharing or selling their personal information and request businesses to delete their data.
Investigators found that from 2020 to 2024, GM transferred driver data, including names, contact information, location data and driving behavior data, to data brokers Verisk Analytics, Inc. and found that he sold it to LexisNexis Risk Solutions. The data was obtained from a driver’s use of OnStar, which is owned by GM and provides roadside assistance, navigation and other services.
General Motors did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Various district attorneys from across the state, including Los Angeles and San Francisco, participated in the investigation and settlement.
Technology is playing a bigger role in the auto industry, but data collected from drivers can reveal personal information about people’s daily habits, including where they drop off their children and doctor visits.
The California Privacy Protection Agency began investigating the privacy practices of connected cars in 2023. While the state is investigating automobile manufacturers, New York Times In 2024, GM reportedly shared consumers’ driving behavior with insurance companies. GM reportedly made about $20 million selling data nationwide to Verisk and LexisNexis.
The state’s privacy protection agency has previously taken action against other automakers. Ford Motor Company was fined $375,703 in March and Honda was fined $632,500 in 2025 for privacy violations.
Under the GM settlement, which still requires court approval, the automaker will delete all driving data the company keeps within 180 days and require two data brokers to do the same. They will also stop selling driving data to consumer reporting agencies for five years and develop a privacy program that includes assessing and mitigating the risks of data collected from OnStar.
California’s settlement with GM comes after the Federal Trade Commission took action against the automaker and OnStar in 2025 over their privacy practices, banning them from disclosing location and driver behavior data to consumer reporting agencies for five years.
