Following its settlement with the FTC earlier this 12 months over its sale of drivers’ data to brokers, Normal Motors has now additionally reached a settlement in California. The company agreed to pay $12.75 million in civil penalties to settle the lawsuit led by Lawyer Normal Rob Bonta on behalf of the individuals of California, and is banned from promoting driving knowledge to shopper reporting companies for 5 years. The lawsuits got here after a 2024 New York Times report revealed that GM collected shoppers’ driving knowledge via its OnStar program and bought this data to knowledge brokers Verisk Analytics and LexisNexis Threat Options, which in flip might market the info to auto insurers.
In some instances, that driving knowledge could possibly be utilized by insurers to extend clients’ charges. Nevertheless, in California, clients had been probably spared this consequence, as legal guidelines within the state prohibit insurers from utilizing driving knowledge on this approach. Nonetheless, the grievance alleges that GM violated shoppers’ privateness by nonconsensually promoting knowledge that included individuals’s names, contact data, geolocation knowledge and driving conduct knowledge.
The settlement settlement stipulates that GM should delete any driving knowledge it is retained inside 180 days “apart from sure restricted inner makes use of,” until it has the client’s specific consent. It additionally requires GM to develop a privateness program to evaluate the dangers of amassing knowledge via OnStar, and report its findings to the DOJ and different companies. In an announcement on Friday, Bonta mentioned, “Right now’s settlement requires Normal Motors to desert these unlawful practices and underscores the significance of the info minimization in California’s privateness legislation — firms cannot simply maintain on to knowledge and use it later for an additional goal.”
