36 State AGs Land $220M Settlement Over Automaker Driving-Data Sales

A bipartisan coalition of 36 state attorneys general, co-led by Washington and Oregon, announced a $220 million settlement with an automaker and a connected-vehicle services subsidiary over the sale of drivers' connected-vehicle data. Because the resolution is multi-state, the negotiated terms are likely uniform across the joining jurisdictions and may include injunctive obligations on data collection, resale and consumer-facing disclosure alongside the payment.

The outcome matters to privacy counsel in two ways. It extends state attorney general enforcement into telematics and connected-vehicle data, where information flows between automakers, connected-services affiliates and third-party purchasers; and the payment's size and the coalition's breadth make it a reference point for gauging settlement exposure in adjacent connected-device and mobility sectors. Clients will want to compare the injunctive and compliance terms — not described in the available reporting — against their own consent architecture, contracts with data recipients, and state-law risk assessments.

Watch for judicial approval, publication of the settlement agreement, and any follow-on private litigation or separate state enforcement. The available summary does not identify the specific practices challenged, the automaker, or any admission of liability, so those elements should be verified before the settlement is cited in advice or board reporting.