FCC fines wireless carriers

Rebecca Klar
·4 min read

Presented by Microsoft —

{beacon}



  PRESENTED BY 

The Big Story 

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a fine totaling $200 million to the nation’s four largest mobile carriers, alleging they illegally shared access to customers’ location data.

© Greg Nash

T-Mobile received the biggest fine of $80 million, along with a $12 million fine for its subsidiary, Sprint, that the company acquired in 2020. AT&T was fined more than $57 million and Verizon was fined almost $7 million, according to the agency’s announcement.

The fines follow initial allegations by the FCC in 2020 under the Trump administration of wireless carriers violating laws by not protecting users’ location data.

The mobile carriers pushed back on the allegations and said they intend to challenge the fine.

The FCC said the agency’s enforcement bureau’s investigation into the carriers found that each of them sold access to their customers location information to “aggregators” that went on to resell access to the information to third-party location-based service providers.

The FCC said the carriers “attempted to offload” their obligation to obtain customer consent to others, which led to not obtaining customer consent.

Mobile carriers are legally required to take reasonable measures to protect certain customer information, including location information, according to the FCC.

The FCC said the “initial failure” compounded when the carriers continued to sell access to location information without taking reasonable measures to protect it after they were made aware that safeguards were ineffective.

 

Read more in a full report at TheHill.com. 

Welcome to The Hill’s Technology newsletter, we’re Rebecca Klar and Julia Shapero — tracking the latest moves from Capitol Hill to Silicon Valley.

Did someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here.

Essential Reads 

How policy will be impacting the tech sector now and in the future:

AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile hit with $200M FCC fine for sharing user location data without consent   

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a fine totaling $200 million to the nation’s four largest mobile carriers after concluding an investigation that found the companies illegally shared access to customers’ location data, the agency said Monday.   T-Mobile received the biggest fine of $80 million, along with a $12 million fine for its subsidiary, Sprint, that the company acquired in 2020. AT&T was fined …


 Full Story

I'm an image

Supreme Court declines to hear Musk challenge to SEC order over Tesla posts

The Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear Elon Musk’s challenge to a 2018 settlement agreement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that required lawyers to approve some of the billionaire’s public posts about Tesla.   The Tesla CEO filed an appeal with the Supreme Court in December, arguing that the agreement is a “prior restraint” on his First Amendment speech rights and is unconstitutional.  “The …


 Full Story

I'm an image

They were once popular social media sites — what happened?

(NEXSTAR) — With the stroke of his pen, President Joe Biden seemingly started the countdown to the demise of TikTok. Though it’s possible the app won’t actually be banned in the U.S., the potential end of the platform prompted some social media users to reflect on those we have lost. Here’s a look at the social media sites that have retired to the annals of the internet archive.  Myspace What better place to start than …


 Full Story

I'm an image

The Refresh 

News we’ve flagged from the intersection of tech and other topics:

Meta spent $7.6M lobbying in first quarter

Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, spent a record $7.6 million lobbying the U.S. government in the first quarter of 2024, The Verge reported.

Financial Times signs deal with OpenAI

The Financial Times has agreed to license its content to OpenAI, allowing the ChatGPT maker to train its artificial intelligence (AI) models on and answer queries using FT’s content, Reuters reported.

On Our Radar 

Upcoming news themes and events we’re watching:

  • The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property will hold a hearing on “The NO FAKES Act: Protecting Americans from Unauthorized Digital Replicas” on Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. ET.

  • Amazon will hold a conference call about its first-quarter financial results on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. ET.

A MESSAGE FROM MICROSOFT

In Other News 

Branch out with other reads on The Hill:

I'm an image

Deepfake of principal’s voice is the latest case of AI being used for harm

The most recent criminal case involving artificial intelligence emerged last week from a Maryland high school, where police say a principal was framed as racist by a fake recording of his voice. The case is yet another reason why everyone — not just politicians and celebrities — should be concerned …


Full Story

What Others are Reading 

Two key stories on The Hill right now:

I'm an image

Anti-Trump Republicans knock McConnell, Barr for support of former president

An anti-Trump Republican group took a swipe at a series of high-profile politicians including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and former … Read more

I'm an image

All eyes on Greene threat to oust Speaker Johnson

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) returns to Washington this week celebrating several recent policy victories but also facing a renewed threat to his gavel … Read more

What Others are Reading 

Opinions related to tech submitted to The Hill:

You’re all caught up. See you tomorrow! 

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.