35 states, DC reach $220M settlement with General Motors over driver data privacy

Automaker General Motors (GM) agreed to pay $220 million to settle a lawsuit with 35 states and Washington, D.C., which alleged the company sold drivers’ data to insurance companies, several attorneys general involved with the settlement announced Thursday.

A bipartisan coalition of state attorneys general, led by Democrats Dan Rayfield of Oregon and Nick Brown of Washington state, brought forward the challenge against the U.S.-based car manufacturer. GM did not admit wrongdoing in the settlement.

The allegations center around GM’s Smart Driver program, in which customers could enroll when they purchased a car at the dealership to track their driver safety record and encourage safe practices. The states accused the automaker of selling user information and driving data to data brokers — who sold it to insurance companies — without enrolled drivers’ knowledge.

Brown said in a Thursday press release announcing the settlement that the........

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