Top Wireless Carriers Fined

The US government has issued millions of dollars in fines to AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon after an investigation found the nation’s top wireless carriers had illegally shared customers’ personal data without their consent. The fines stem from allegations in 2020 by the Federal Communications Commission that for years, the companies had improperly shared users’ geolocation histories to third parties, including to prisons, as part of their commercial programs. Despite promising to stop the tactic after press reports and a congressional probe brought the issue to light in 2018, carriers took nearly a year, or in some cases even longer, to finally stop doing so. The FCC said AT&T must pay $57 million, while Verizon was fined nearly $47 million. Sprint was fined $12 million and T-Mobile $80 million. Since the investigation began, Sprint and T-Mobile merged in 2020.