December 1, 2024

Saluti Law Medi

Rule it with System

Texas Attorney General Sues General Motors

Texas Attorney General Sues General Motors

The Texas Attorney General is taking aim at General Motors over car data privacy issues.  In a new lawsuit filed against the automaker, the Texas AG accuses GM of “unlawfully collecting drivers’ private data and selling it to several companies, including insurance companies”.  The legal action follows an investigation launched by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in June into several car manufactures regarding allegations the companies had improperly collected and sold drivers’ data to third parties without driver consent.   It’s a privacy issue we have been following closely here at the CarPro after it was brought to light in a New York Times article earlier this year.  For our post on the NYT article click here.

The Texas AG’s press release from August 13, 2024, reads as follows:

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued General Motors for its false, deceptive, and misleading business practices related to its unlawful collection and sale of over 1.5 million Texans’ private driving data to insurance companies without their knowledge or consent. 

This action follows Attorney General Paxton’s June 2024 announcement that he opened an investigation into several car manufacturers regarding allegations that the companies had improperly collected mass amounts of data about drivers directly from the vehicles and then sold the information to third parties. 

“Our investigation revealed that General Motors has engaged in egregious business practices that violated Texans’ privacy and broke the law. We will hold them accountable,” said Attorney General Paxton. “Companies are using invasive technology to violate the rights of our citizens in unthinkable ways. Millions of American drivers wanted to buy a car, not a comprehensive surveillance system that unlawfully records information about every drive they take and sells their data to any company willing to pay for it.”

General Motors used technology installed in most 2015 model year or newer GM vehicles to collect, record, analyze, and transmit highly detailed driving data about each time a driver used their vehicle. General Motors sold this information to several other companies, including to at least two companies for the purpose of generating “Driving Scores” about GM’s customers and selling these scores to insurance companies. General Motors deceived many of its customers when it compelled them to enroll in its products, including OnStar Smart Driver, as part of its vehicle “onboarding” process and told them that failing to enroll would result in the deactivation of their vehicle’s safety features. Unbeknownst to customers, however, by enrolling in GM’s products, they were “agreeing” to General Motors’ collection and sale of their data. Despite lengthy and convoluted disclosures, General Motors never informed its customers of its actual conduct—the systematic collection and sale of their highly detailed driving data.

The investigation was part of a broad data privacy and security initiative launched by Attorney General Paxton in June 2024 to ensure that companies respect Texans’ privacy rights and enforce privacy protection laws.

To read the court filing, click here.

I'm in!

OnStar in a GM vehicle. Photo Credit: General Motors.