AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile fined nearly $200 million for sharing customer location data without their consent

"These carriers failed to protect the information entrusted to them. Here, we are talking about some of the most sensitive data in their possession: customers’ real-time location information, revealing where they go and who they are,” stated FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel on Monday.

The investigation into the carriers began in 2019 when they were found to be selling customers' location data to third-party data aggregators. While fines were proposed in 2020, the carriers were given time to contest the allegations before the fines were finalized.

According to the FCC, the four companies are required by federal law to take reasonable measures to protect certain consumer data.

AT&T responded to the FCC order, saying, “The FCC order lacks both legal and factual merit. It unfairly holds us responsible for another company’s violation of our contractual requirements to obtain consent, ignores the immediate steps we took to address that company’s failures, and perversely punishes us for supporting life-saving location services like emergency medical alerts and roadside assistance that the FCC itself previously encouraged. We expect to appeal the order after conducting a legal review.”

Among the carriers, T-Mobile faces the largest fine at $80 million. Sprint, which merged with T-Mobile during the investigation, received a $12 million charge. Verizon was fined $47 million, and AT&T was issued a $57 million fee.