Vermont to receive $4.5M settlement from General Motors following data privacy investigation

Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark and members of her staff addressed the press on Thursday afternoon. Photo by Theo Wells-Spackman/VTDigger Theo Wells-Spackman is a Report for America corps member who reports for VTDigger. MONTPELIER — Roughly two years ago, Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark and James Layman, who leads Clark’s consumer protection unit, read a New York Times journalist’s coverage of worrying data sharing practices at car manufacturing giant General Motors. The account, which laid bare the auto maker’s practice of sharing data about customers’ driving habits — such as seat belt use and speeds — with insurance companies, led the Vermont officials to initiate what became a joint effort between 35 states and the District of Columbia to investigate the company’s handling of consumer information. The resulting $220 million nationwide settlement leaves the state with a $4.5 million payout and a host of new privacy guarantees from General Motors, according to Clark. At a press conference Thursday, Clark said the investigation found the company’s use of data had clear impacts in Vermont between 2016 and 2024, allegedly violating the state’s Consumer Protection Act through unfair or deceptive practices. “GM collected data from tens of thousands of Vermonters and sold
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