FCC finalizes $196M in fines against telecoms for sharing location data
By 
Adrianne Appel2024-04-29T20:30:00
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) fined telecommunications giants T-Mobile, Sprint, AT&T, and Verizon a total of approximately $196 million for allegedly selling customers’ location data to third parties without consent.
T-Mobile and AT&T immediately responded that they would fight the fines.
The cases for the penalties, pending since 2020, began with an investigation into reports the carriers were disclosing customer location data to a Missouri sheriff through a third-party location-finding service operated by Securus, which specialized in providing communication services to prisons. Securus was tracking specific people using the data provided by the carriers, the FCC said.
THIS IS MEMBERS-ONLY CONTENT
You are not logged in and do not have access to members-only content.
If you are already a registered user or a member, SIGN IN now.
Related articles
-
News BriefGM sued by FTC for selling location and behavioral data without drivers' consent
General Motors failed to disclose to customers that it tracked their precise locations and driving behavior and sold the data to third parties, the Federal Trade Commission alleged in a proposed order.
-
News BriefFCC orders Sorenson unit to pay $34.6M over illegal data retention
Sorenson Communications agreed to pay $34.6 million and implement a comprehensive compliance program to settle allegations levied by the Federal Communications Commission that its subsidiary illegally retained call content of users who relied on captions to make and receive calls.
-
News BriefTexas touts team ‘among the largest in the country’ to enforce privacy laws
The state of Texas forecasted “aggressive enforcement” of its upcoming data privacy law with the announcement of a dedicated team to oversee its implementation.
More from Regulatory Enforcement
-
ArticleFalse Claims Act enforcement themes for 2026
The U.S. Department of Justice touted a record $6.8 billion in False Claims Act (FCA) recoveries in fiscal year 2025, much of that total stems from prior years’ cases and does not necessarily reflect the administration’s current enforcement direction.
-
ArticleFederal jury convicts former coal executive in Egypt-linked coal FCPA case
A former vice president of an American coal company was convicted by a federal jury for his part in an international bribery and money laundering scheme. The conviction represents an anomoly in the Trump administration’s handling of Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) cases launched under former President Joe Biden.
-
ArticleU.K. financial regulator cuts cases to focus on investigations that achieve results
The U.K. financial regulator has dropped 100 investigations without action over the past three years, but compliance should expect a refocus of resources rather than a retreat from enforcement.