Penalty Amount
$375,703
The California Privacy Protection Agency (CalPrivacy) settled with Ford Motor Company requiring the company to pay a $375,703 fine and change its practices. Ford violated the CCPA by requiring consumers to complete an email verification step before they could opt-out of the sale and sharing of their personal information collected through digital properties and connected vehicle services. In addition to the fine, Ford must provide easy methods to submit opt-out requests with minimal steps, audit its tracking technologies, and ensure compliance with opt-out preference signals including Global Privacy Control.
Ford must pay a $375,703 fine and change its business practices by providing consumers with easy methods to submit opt-out requests with minimal steps. Ford must also conduct an audit of the tracking technologies on its website and ensure compliance with opt-out preference signals, including the Global Privacy Control. Ford has already processed the opt-out requests that lacked verification in response to the agency's investigation.
In-house legal teams should review their client's privacy notice and opt-out mechanisms to ensure the opt-out process does not include unnecessary verification steps that create friction. Contracts with vendors handling opt-out requests should include requirements to process opt-out requests promptly without imposing additional verification beyond what the CCPA requires. Legal teams should also verify that their entity's systems honor opt-out preference signals like Global Privacy Control (GPC) and ensure proper technical implementation across all digital properties, particularly for connected devices or vehicles that collect personal information.
Entity
Ford Motor Company
Industry
AutomotiveOfficial Press Release
https://privacy.ca.gov/2026/03/ford-to-change-practices-pay-fine-for-adding-unnecessary-friction-to-opt-out-process/
Order of Decision Ford Motor Co
https://privacy.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/357/2026/03/Order-of-Decision-Ford-Motor-Co.pdf
California Attorney General Enforcement Page
https://oag.ca.gov/privacy/privacy-enforcement-actions
"Ford Motor Company"
"$375,703 fine"
"California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)"
"Ford required consumers to verify their identity before they could opt-out. Ford did so by requiring consumers to verify their email address as part of the opt-out process, resulting in unnecessary friction for consumers seeking to exercise their rights."
"In addition to paying the fine, Ford must change its business practices by providing consumers with easy methods to submit opt-out requests with minimal steps. Ford must also conduct an audit of the tracking technologies on its website and ensure compliance with opt-out preference signals, including the Global Privacy Control."
$376K
The California Privacy Protection Agency settled with Ford Motor Company for $375,703 after finding that Ford violated the CCPA by requiring email verification for opt-out requests, creating unnecessary friction. Ford must implement easier opt-out methods, conduct a website audit, and comply with global privacy controls.
$19.2M
Ford Motor Company agreed to a $19.2 million multistate settlement for falsely advertising the fuel economy of 2013–2014 C-Max hybrids and the payload capacity of 2011–2014 Super Duty pickup trucks. The settlement requires Ford to cease deceptive advertising practices and pay penalties to participating states.
A coalition of 12 state attorneys general, led by Colorado AG Phil Weiser, obtained a temporary restraining order from a federal court in California to halt the proposed $110 billion merger of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. by Paramount Skydance Corporation. The lawsuit alleges the merger violates Section 7 of the Clayton Act by substantially lessening competition in film distribution, anticipated blockbuster film distribution, and licensing cable TV channels.
The California Privacy Protection Agency (CalPrivacy) joined a coalition of 18 Attorneys General and state agencies in opposing the proposed SECURE Data Act, a federal privacy bill that would preempt stronger state privacy laws like the CCPA. The coalition argues the bill would weaken consumer privacy protections, limit enforcement remedies, and undermine California's Delete Request and Opt-out Platform (DROP).
$12.8M
California Attorney General Rob Bonta, along with multiple district attorneys and the California Privacy Protection Agency, announced a $12.75 million settlement with General Motors for illegally selling hundreds of thousands of Californians' location and driving data to data brokers Verisk and LexisNexis without notice or consent. The settlement includes the largest CCPA penalty to date, a five-year ban on selling driving data to consumer reporting agencies, and requirements to delete retained data and implement a robust privacy program.
The California Privacy Protection Agency Board voted to support two bills (AB 1542 and SB 1106) and took a 'support if amended' position on a third bill (AB 883). These bills aim to strengthen privacy protections by expanding sensitive data protections, improving deletion rights under the Delete Act, and providing expedited deletion for elected officials and judges.