## GM Pays Record $12.75 Million California Penalty for Selling OnStar Drivers' Data to Brokers Without Consent
General Motors has agreed to pay a record $12.75 million civil penalty after California authorities found the automaker sold driving data from hundreds of thousands of OnStar subscribers to data brokers without their knowledge or consent. The company allegedly generated approximately $20 million from the unlawful data transfers between 2020 and 2024, while systematically misleading customers about how their information would be used.

The case exposed a years-long pattern of data exploitation centered on GM's OnStar navigation and emergency roadside service. Prosecutors found that GM collected names, real-time location data, driving behavior patterns, and contact information from paying customers, then funneled that intelligence to third-party data brokers. Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman, whose office prosecuted the case, said the investigation began with a single consumer who requested a data report and discovered their movements had been tracked and sold. That individual complaint triggered broader scrutiny from journalists, regulators, and law enforcement.

The settlement signals escalating pressure on automakers over vehicle data practices as connected cars generate unprecedented amounts of personal intelligence. California authorities framed the outcome as evidence that individual consumers possess meaningful leverage when they exercise data access rights. "This case shows more than anything that one consumer can make a huge difference," Hochman said. The penalty, the largest of its kind under California's privacy statutes, is expected to intensify scrutiny of similar data-sharing arrangements across the automotive industry.
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- **Source**: r/privacy
- **Sector**: The Vault
- **Tags**: data privacy, California, OnStar, data brokers, civil penalty
- **Credibility**: unverified
- **Published**: 2026-05-10 03:01:48
- **ID**: 81389
- **URL**: https://whisperx.ai/en/intel/81389