(The Center Square) – Arizona GM owners may soon reap the benefits of a $220 million settlement over the illegal sale of their private driving behavior data.
The settlement, which was hashed out by the car conglomerate and attorney generals from Oregon and Washington, who were co-joined by others in 31 states (including Arizona) and the District of Columbia, stemmed from a New York Times investigation that found GM illegally sold drivers’ behavior data and location information to third parties from 2016 to 2024. The case was filed in Seattle-based King County Superior Court.
Whether Arizonans will be able to claim a share of the $5.9 million in settlement funds that the state will receive is not currently known.
Richie Taylor, Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes’ spokesperson, did not have an estimate on how many Arizonans may be eligible as part of the GM settlement. Taylor told The Center Square that the $220 million settlement is in civil penalties to the state, with a separate class action lawsuit in progress representing GM’s customers themselves.
Still, Mayes called Thursday’s $220 million settlement the first step in a long road toward retribution for the impacted customers in Arizona in her statement.
“Drivers were enrolled in data tracking without their knowledge,” Mayes said. “My office will continue to enforce Arizona’s consumer protection laws to ensure companies respect the privacy of the people they serve.”
Requests for comment from GM’s media relations staff were not returned in time for this story.
What was collected?
The collections came as part of GM’s Smart Driver program, which tracked drivers’ habits under the guise of helping them improve their driving safety, telling them that their data would not be sold to insurers without prior consent.
The attorneys general said the Detroit carmaker did not notify drivers about whether their data was being tracked. More than 370,000 customers were enrolled in the program despite being told that they were not enrolled, according to the attorneys general. They said customers’ driving patterns were sold to data brokers and insurance companies.
The information that was sold included how often someone drove their car, along with when they drove, how frequently they hit the brakes or accelerator quickly and how often they broke the speed limit, according to the Times’ story.
After the story, GM quietly discontinued the Smart Driver program, but not before insurers were able to use the acquired data to increase customers’ premiums, according to Mayes’ office.
As part of the settlement, GM is required to limit the data it can collect from drivers while requiring the company to get drivers’ consent before it can collect and disclose such information in the future.
Under the settlement, the carmaker must also improve company training across its dealerships to prevent customers from being enrolled in data collection programs without their consent.