Texas Files Lawsuit Against GM for Allegedly Misleading Customers to Share Driving Data for Insurance Sales

The state of Texas initiated legal action against General Motors (GM) on Tuesday, citing long-term alleged exploitation of consumer information and trust. GM allegedly introduced a complex and misleading process for new car buyers, ostensibly for their protection. However, this process was actually a cunningly crafted sales strategy to harvest consumer data for GM’s profit. The lawsuit argues that the possibility of their driving data being sold was never disclosed to the consumers, thus breaching Texas consumer protection statutes.

Texas’ top legal advisor, Attorney General Ken Paxton, is pushing for a trial by jury and demands a minimum of $10,000 in damages for each GM vehicle sold within the state since 2015, including an additional penalty of $250,000 when the data breach involves individuals aged 65 and above.

Following a lucrative $1.4 billion settlement from Meta regarding separate privacy infringements, Texas appears to be on a proactive path to address potential fiscal dilemmas using litigation over privacy violations.