FCC Fines AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint $200M for Illegally Sharing Location Data
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has fined four major mobile carriers - AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon - a total of nearly $200 million for illegally sharing customers' location information without consent. The FCC's investigation, launched at the request of Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), revealed that these carriers sold customer location data directly or indirectly to a vast number of third-party entities: AT&T to 88, Verizon to 67, Sprint to 86, and T-Mobile to 75. The carriers promised to 'wind down' such agreements but a 2019 report showed little change. Furthermore, a data aggregation firm called LocationSmart had a free, unsecured demo allowing anyone to track phone locations across North America. The fines varied based on the duration of illegal data sharing and the number of active agreements. The FCC's action follows a 2018 incident where a company named Securus Technologies sold location data to law enforcement officials. The four carriers have been fined $57 million (AT&T), $47 million (Verizon), $12 million (Sprint), and $80 million (T-Mobile) respectively. The FCC found that the carriers sold access to customers' location data to 'aggregators', who then resold it to third-party services without valid customer consent.
