General Motors is being accused of collecting data about the “bad” habits of drivers and selling it on to insurers.
The state of Texas is suing the car company over the allegations, claiming it installed technology on more than 14 million vehicles to collect data about drivers.
The lawsuit alleges GM – which manufactures brands including Chevrolet, Cadillac and Buick – sold the data to insurers and other companies without drivers’ consent.
The data was allegedly used to create “driving scores” to determine whether more than 1.8 million Texas drivers engaged in “bad” habits such as driving or braking too fast, steering too sharply into turns, not using seatbelts, and driving late at night.
The data-collecting technology, collected by the company’s OnStar diagnostics system, was allegedly installed on most GM vehicles starting with the 2015 model year.
It is not clear whether the data was used to increase insurance premiums.
Texas attorney general Ken Paxton said the information had emerged during a probe into whether several carmakers collected and sold mass amounts of data without the knowledge of drivers.
“Companies are using invasive technology to violate the rights of our citizens in unthinkable ways,” he said in a statement.
“Our investigation revealed that General Motors has engaged in egregious business practices that violated Texans’ privacy and broke the law. We will hold them accountable.”
The lawsuit is now seeking the destruction of improperly collected data, compensation for drivers, a civil fine and other remedies.
GM did not immediately respond to requests for comment.