April 29, 2024 at 07:26PM
The FCC fined AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile US almost $200 million for selling subscribers’ location data to data brokers. The telcos were ordered to pay between $12 million and $80 million. FCC boss Jessica Rosenworcel emphasized the sensitivity of the data being sold and the carriers’ failure to protect it, sparking concerns about privacy and national security repercussions.
Key Takeaways from the Meeting Notes:
1. The FCC has fined major US telcos a total of almost $200 million for selling subscribers’ location information to data brokers.
2. AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile US were ordered to pay fines of $57 million, $47 million, $12 million, and $80 million respectively.
3. FCC boss Jessica Rosenworcel emphasized the sensitivity of the data and the telcos’ failure to protect it, stating that the data revealed customers’ real-time locations and identities.
4. Concerns about telecoms giants providing customer location data were raised in 2018 when US Senator Ron Wyden asked the FCC to investigate claims of data sales to companies like Securus Technologies.
5. The FCC concluded in 2020 that the telcos had likely broken the law, and Senator Wyden praised the FCC’s action for holding the companies accountable.
6. The FTC and privacy-oriented legislators in the House of Representatives have also taken steps to address the issue of location data sales by data brokers.
7. The sale of location data is not just a privacy concern but also a national security matter, as demonstrated by a study showing that data on US military personnel and their families was available from data brokers.
8. The FCC found that each telco sold customer location data to data aggregators, which then resold the data to third-party location service companies, often without obtaining valid consent from customers.
9. The carriers have responded by blaming the downstream buyers for failing to obtain proper consent and have indicated their intention to appeal the FCC’s orders.
Please let me know if you need further analysis or details on any specific aspect of the meeting notes.