General Motors faces lawsuit for collecting and selling driving data of its customers (X @GM)
General Motors is being sued for allegedly collecting and selling its customers’ driving data without consent, but the company claims that there was no privacy violation since the data was obtained while drivers were on public roads.
According to GM, activities conducted in public spaces, such as driving, are not protected by reasonable expectations of privacy, a claim based on state laws and previous court rulings that consider public behaviors as observable by anyone.
The data collected includes vehicle location, routes, braking, and speed — information that, according to GM, is naturally exposed while driving in public places. Companies such as LexisNexis and Verisk, which purchased the data and are also defendants in the lawsuit, support this defense, stating that courts generally do not recognize privacy in activities conducted on public roads.
Additionally, the plaintiffs also accuse the automaker of violating federal laws regarding eavesdropping, data storage, and misuse of computers, accusations that are being contested by GM and OnStar. The Smart Driver program, which collected this data, was discontinued in April 2024.
This case raises concerns about the limits of technological surveillance and to what extent drivers have control over the information their own cars record.
Source: Motor1.com | Photo: X @GM | This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team
