The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has imposed fines totaling $200 million on four major U.S. wireless carriers for unlawfully sharing customers’ real-time location data without their consent. The fines were a result of the Notices of Apparent Liability issued by the FCC against AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon in February 2020.
T-Mobile is facing a proposed fine exceeding $91 million, while AT&T could be fined over $57 million. Verizon faces a proposed fine exceeding $48 million, and Sprint may be fined more than $12 million by the FCC.
According to the FCC, the carriers sold access to customers’ location information without taking reasonable measures to protect against unauthorized access. The Enforcement Bureau of the FCC launched an investigation after Missouri Sheriff Cory Hutcheson misused a “location-finding service” provided by Securus to access location data without consent from 2014 to 2017.
Despite the fines, all four carriers have condemned the FCC’s decision and announced their intention to appeal.
The FCC emphasized that telecommunications carriers are required to safeguard the confidentiality of customer data, including location information, and adopt reasonable measures to prevent unauthorized access. Carriers must also obtain explicit consent from customers before using, disclosing, or allowing access to such data.
The carriers are responsible for the actions of their representatives in ensuring compliance with these regulations.
