Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced a lawsuit against General Motors for allegedly “unlawfully collecting drivers’ private data.” “We’re suing General Motors for unlawfully collecting drivers’ private data and selling it to several companies—including INSURANCE COMPANIES,” Paxton said. “Our investigation revealed that General Motors has engaged in egregious business practices that violated Texans’ privacy and broke the law. We WILL hold them accountable. Companies are using invasive technology to violate the rights of our citizens in unthinkable ways,” Paxton continued. “Millions of American drivers wanted to buy a car, not a comprehensive surveillance system that unlawfully records information about every drive they take and sells their data to any company willing to pay for it,” he added. BREAKING: We’re suing General Motors for unlawfully collecting drivers’ private data and selling it to several companies—including INSURANCE COMPANIES. Our investigation revealed that General Motors has engaged in egregious business practices that violated Texans’ privacy and… pic.twitter.com/xl4jaeGzOK — Attorney General Ken Paxton (@KenPaxtonTX) August 13, 2024 Read the full press release: Reuters reports: General Motors has been sued by the state of Texas, which accused the automaker of installing technology on more than 14 million vehicles to collect data about drivers, which it then sold to insurers and other companies without drivers’ consent. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said Tuesday’s lawsuit arose from a probe announced in June into whether several automakers collected and sold mass amounts of data without drivers’ knowledge. Paxton said GM’s data were used to compile “Driving Scores” assessing whether more than 1.8 million Texas drivers had “bad” habits such as speeding, braking too fast, steering too sharply into turns, not using seatbelts and driving late at night. Insurers could then use the data when deciding whether to raise premiums, cancel policies or deny coverage, Paxton said. The technology was allegedly installed on most GM vehicles starting with the 2015 model year. General Motors has been sued by the state of Texas, which accused the automaker of installing technology on more than 14 million vehicles to collect data about drivers, which it then sold to insurers and other companies without drivers' consent. More here: https://t.co/39NJGSVchS — Reuters Business (@ReutersBiz) August 14, 2024 WATCH: Texas files new lawsuit against General Motors, claiming the company installed data collection software on more than 14 million vehicles. @trevorlault reports. pic.twitter.com/pchR7JBWcO — Good Morning America (@GMA) August 14, 2024 From POLITICO: In June, Paxton opened an investigation on multiple car companies regarding their collection and sale of drivers’ data, raising concerns about people’s information being sold to insurance companies. Cars collect an extensive amount of data on drivers, including their location, their contacts and their driving patterns. This data can be used for city planning purposes, but it is also used for targeted advertising and to adjust insurance rates. GM has been embroiled in data privacy concerns after the New York Times revealed in March that the company shared drivers’ data with data brokers, who then provided the information to insurance companies. A follow-up investigation from Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) in July accused General Motors of failing to obtain proper consent from drivers before sharing their data and accused the company of manipulating users for its data collection.