State’s $2.6 million share of General Motors settlement will go to Consumer Protection Fund

South Dakota’s Consumer Protection Fund will get a $2.6 million boost after General Motors agreed to settle allegations of selling private driver data to third parties.

South Dakota Republican Attorney General Marty Jackley announced the settlement in a press release Thursday. He was one of 36 attorneys general involved in the settlement.

The company collected drivers’ behavior and location data and sold it to data brokers, who sold that data to insurance companies, according to the release. Insurance companies used that data, in part, to set insurance rates, the release said.

“Protecting South Dakotans’ privacy is a priority,” Jackley said. “Our settlement guards privacy by requiring express consent from consumers before collecting or disclosing consumer driving and location data.”

General Motors is required to provide customers with options to request a copy of their collected data, delete it and disable the collection of exact location and driving behavior data.

Money received from the settlement will go to the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Fund, to pay for litigation and investigation costs and future consumer protection efforts.