General Motors to pay $12.75m settlement for selling drivers’ location and data

Automaker had given ‘numerous statements reassuring drivers that it would not do so’, says California attorney general

General Motors (GM) agreed to pay $12.75m to resolve claims that it illegally sold hundreds of thousands of Californians’ location and driving data to two data brokers, said the state’s attorney general, Rob Bonta, on Friday. He said this came after the Detroit-based automaker had given “numerous statements reassuring drivers that it would not do so”.

“General Motors sold the data of California drivers without their knowledge or consent,” Bonta said in a statement. “This trove of information included precise and personal location data that could identify the everyday habits and movements of Californians.”