General Motors Co. (NYSE:GM) is facing a lawsuit filed by customers in Georgia for allegedly collecting and selling their driving information without consent.
What Happened: In the filing, plaintiffs said they had a “reasonable expectation of privacy” when driving on the road. Plaintiffs also claim GM has violated the Federal Wiretap Act, the Stored Communications Act, and the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act; all of which the company denies.
GM states that ‘driving a vehicle, which necessarily involves conduct that takes place on public roads, cannot form the basis for any privacy-based claims,' noted Motor1 on Monday.
‘Driving data includes vehicle location, driving routes, braking events, and speed, all of which occur on "public thoroughfares,"' GM states in their filing to dismiss the case.
Besides GM, the defendants also include data analytics companies NexisLexis and Verisk Analytics Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK). Both companies also maintain similar positions to GM in their court filings to dismiss the case.
Why It Matters: GM has had previous run-ins with privacy laws, as the FTC had banned the company and its unit, OnStar, from disclosing driver information to consumer reporting agencies in January.
"GM monitored and sold people’s precise geolocation data and driver behavior information, sometimes as often as every three seconds,” said FTC Chair Lina M Khan at the time of the announcement.
In the midst of this filing in Georgia, GM faces uncertainty as Donald Trump's auto tariffs continue to cast a doubt over the company's ratings. The tariffs could potentially cost GM and other auto manufacturers billions of dollars.
Elsewhere, GM had announced it will continue to manufacture EVs at its Ramos Azirpe production facility in Mexico, amid uncertainty about auto tariffs.
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