Following its FTC settlement earlier this year, General Motors has agreed to pay $12.75 million to resolve a California lawsuit over misuse of customer driving data. California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced the settlement, which also bans GM from selling driving data to consumer reporting agencies for five years.

The lawsuits followed a 2024 New York Times report revealing GM collected consumers' driving information through its OnStar program and sold it to data brokers Verisk Analytics and LexisNexis Risk Solutions. This data could potentially be used by insurers to increase customers' rates, though California law prohibits such practices.

The settlement requires GM to delete most driving data within 180 days unless customers provide express consent. GM must also develop a privacy program for OnStar data collection and report findings to the DOJ and other agencies. Bonta emphasized the settlement "requires General Motors to abandon these illegal practices and underscores the importance of the data minimization in California's privacy law."