GM Is Hit With New Lawsuit Over Allegations of Secretly Selling Your Driving Information | Carscoops

      Nebraska is pursuing compensation for affected residents and civil penalties against GM.

      The state accuses GM of selling the driving information of thousands to outside parties and insurers.

      The data in question includes instances of abrupt braking, rapid acceleration, and sharp turns.

      The Attorney General of Nebraska challenges GM's assertion that vehicle owners consented to the sale of their data.

      As vehicles become more connected, concerns regarding privacy are intensifying. Automakers face increasing scrutiny for allegedly gathering and selling sensitive driving data to third parties, including insurance companies. The issue intensified in 2024 when a New York Times report disclosed that GM was sharing customer data with brokers, leading to a lawsuit from Arkansas.

      Read: FTC Prohibits GM from Selling Your Driving Data for Five Years

      Now, Nebraska has entered the legal battle, with Attorney General Mike Hilgers filing a lawsuit against General Motors and its OnStar division for what he refers to as “unlawfully collecting, processing, and selling sensitive driving data” from Nebraskans.

      The lawsuit claims that GM has been secretly collecting and selling customer data without their knowledge or consent for years across the state. This information, gathered through the OnStar telematics system, includes dates, times when driving started and ended, vehicle speed, seatbelt status of drivers and passengers, and distances driven. GM is alleged to have collected and sold driving data from over 14 million vehicles in the U.S., “many thousands of which belonged to Nebraskans.”

      Driving Behavior Converted into a Score

      Following the collection of driving data, GM allegedly entered into agreements with third-party companies to store this information and then assigned a ‘Driving Score’ to each customer based on various tracked risk factors, including hard braking, rapid acceleration, seatbelt usage, and sharp turns. These third-party companies are also accused of reselling access to this data to car insurance providers.

      Thousands of Local Residents Affected

      According to Hilgers, “GM made millions in lump sum payments from third parties, royalty payments from telematics exchange licenses sold to insurers, and guaranteed annual payments if GM sold the Driving Data of a specific number of newly sold GM vehicles.”

      The complaint further alleges that GM misrepresented customer consent, suggesting to these companies that drivers had agreed to the data collection and sale.

      The Nebraska Attorney General disputes these claims, asserting that GM used “deceptive, unconscionable, and unlawful methods to enroll its customers in its data collection programs.” The state’s lawsuit seeks civil penalties, restitution for the impacted residents, and a court order to prevent GM and OnStar from continuing these actions.

      “Nebraskans deserve to engage with companies that are transparent and honest about their practices,” Hilgers stated. “That did not occur here, and we initiated this lawsuit because one large company opted not to inform Nebraskans that their data would affect their insurance rates. This is unacceptable. Our office will ensure that companies misleading Nebraskans are held accountable, regardless of their size.”

      As automakers strive to shape the future of mobility, incidents like this raise a significant question: in the pursuit of connectivity, who truly controls their personal data? For many consumers, this may be the first realization of just how much their vehicle knows and, more importantly, how many others could be listening.