Texas AG sues GM for allegedly collecting drivers' personal information without consent

Aug. 14 (UPI) -- Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against General Motors for allegedly collecting private data on Texas motorists illegally and turning it over to insurance companies.

In the lawsuit announced Tuesday , Paxton charged that GM has scooped up information on more than 1.5 million Texas drivers without consent after opening an investigation. He said the auto giant in turn sold that information to third parties.

General Motors, according to Paxton, was able to use technology installed in its vehicles with the model year 2015 or newer to gather and collect detailed driving data on how drivers used their vehicles. Texas said GM used onboard tools like OnStar Smart Driver to collect such information.

"Our investigation revealed that General Motors has engaged in egregious business practices that violated Texans' privacy and broke the law," Paxton said in a statement. "We will hold them accountable. Companies are using invasive technology to violate the rights of our citizens in unthinkable ways."

"Millions of American drivers wanted to buy a car, not a comprehensive surveillance system that unlawfully records information about every driver they take and sells their data to any company willing to pay for it."

General Motors said it is aware of Texas's lawsuit over the data collection.

"We've been in discussions with the attorney general's office and are reviewing the complaint," a company spokesperson told The Hill . "We share the desire to protect consumers' privacy."