Isophoric News · Tuesday, November 3, 2026
General Motors to pay $220 million to states, including about $12 million to New York, over the sale of drivers' data; Bloomberg settles subscription case for $500,000
General Motors will pay $220 million to New York and other states, including $12,054,341 to New York, and limit the driving data it collects, settling claims that it sold drivers' driving and location data to data brokers who sold it to insurers, Attorney General Letitia James, joined by other attorneys general, announced Oct. 29. The attorneys general's investigation found that GM enrolled millions of drivers in its Smart Driver program from 2016 to 2024, including more than 700,000 New York drivers, and told them it would not share their data with insurers without consent, according to James's office. In the consent decree filed in Washington State, one of the parallel state judgments, GM agreed to the terms without admitting any facts or liability.
James's office said the OnStar app told more than 370,000 drivers they were not enrolled in Smart Driver while GM was collecting and selling their data, and that dealership employees in many cases allegedly accepted the terms on customers' behalf. Under the settlement GM must run a data privacy program with in-house and third-party assessments and train and oversee dealers on enrollment, the office said, and the Washington decree requires drivers' affirmative express consent before GM collects or uses their driving data.
In a separate settlement announced Nov. 2, Bloomberg L.P. agreed to pay $500,000 in penalties and to refund eligible subscribers in New York and nationwide after an investigation by James's office found that Bloomberg.com did not clearly disclose automatic renewals and price increases and made subscriptions hard to cancel. Under the assurance of discontinuance, Bloomberg neither admits nor denies the findings; the findings list a monthly digital plan that rose from $1.99 for three months to $34.99 a month, and a $99 student annual plan that renewed at $415 after graduation. Refunds go to set classes of U.S. subscribers from Feb. 9, 2021 to June 30, 2023, including those who complained to Bloomberg, the attorney general, the Better Business Bureau or the Federal Trade Commission and then asked to cancel.