A legal conflict lasting two years between General Motors and California’s prosecutors, spearheaded by Attorney General Rob Bonta, regarding the alleged inappropriate use of customer driving data has concluded, with GM consenting to pay $12.75 million in fines.

In a press statement announcing the agreement, the AG asserts that GM marketed “the names, contact details, geolocation information, and driving behavior statistics of hundreds of thousands of Californians” to data brokers, such as Verisk Analytics and LexisNexis Risk Solutions. The announcement emphasizes that having precise knowledge of an individual’s vehicle location uncovers significant personal and sensitive details about that individual, including their residence, workplace, children’s educational institution, and place of worship.

The initial details of the situation were revealed by The New York Times in 2024, examining whether insurance firms utilized this driving information to impose higher insurance costs on certain customers. Nevertheless, the attorney general’s probe found that “California drivers were not directly affected by GM’s data sales,” as California’s stringent insurance regulations forbid insurers from relying on driving data to determine insurance premiums.

In addition to the $12.75 million settlement, GM has committed to ceasing the sale of driving data to any consumer reporting entities for a duration of five years, erasing any existing driving information within 180 days (unless explicitly allowed to retain the data by the driver), and creating and sustaining its own privacy framework to evaluate its data gathering activities and reduce the risks associated with a data breach.

While the agreement marks a win for consumer privacy, GM continues to benefit financially. Based on the attorney general’s estimates, GM generated approximately $20 million from the sale of its OnStar data, so even with the considerable settlement, they still maintain profitability.