FCC fines largest U.S. wireless carriers $200 million for selling customer location data

The Federal Communications Commission has slap the largest mobile carriers in the United States to be collectively fined $200 million for selling access to their customers’ location information without their consent. AT&T was ordered to pay $57 million, while Verizon must pay $47 million. Meanwhile, Sprint and T-Mobile face a penalty totaling $92 million since the companies merged two years ago. The FCC conducted an extensive investigation into carriers’ unauthorized disclosure and sale of subscribers’ real-time location data after their activities came to light in 2018.

To summarize this practice in the words of FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel: Carriers sold “real-time location information to data aggregators, allowing this highly sensitive data to end up in the hands of bail bond companies , bounty hunters and other shady people.” actors.” According to the agency, the scheme began to unravel following public reports that a Missouri sheriff was tracking numerous people using location information that a company called Securus obtains from wireless carriers. wire. Securus provides communications services to correctional facilities nationwide.

Although the carriers eventually ceased operations, the agency said they continued to operate their programs for a year after the practice was revealed and after promising the FCC that they would stop selling the location data client. Additionally, they continued without putting reasonable safeguards in place to ensure that legitimate services using their customers’ information, such as roadside assistance and emergency medical services, actually obtain users’ consent to track their location .

The companies said Fast business that they intend to contest the fines. T-Mobile, which faces the largest penalty of $80 million – Sprint was fined $12 million – said the fine was excessive. AT&T said the decision lacked “legal and factual basis” and that the decision “perversely punishes [the companies] to support life-saving location services.