"FCC Fines Carriers $200m For Selling User Location Data"

According to the FCC, four of America’s largest mobile operators sold access to customer location data to third parties without gaining customer consent or putting adequate safeguards in place. The FCC is fining Sprint ($12m), T-Mobile ($80m), AT&T ($57m), and Verizon ($47m) close to $200m in total for breaking the law. Section 222 of the Communications Act requires carriers to take “reasonable measures” to protect customer information, including their location details, to maintain its confidentiality, and to obtain express customer consent before using, disclosing, or allowing access to it. The FCC claimed that all four carriers sold access to customer location data to aggregators, who resold it to third-party location-based service providers. None of these parties gained customer consent. The FCC noted that even after becoming aware that safeguards were ineffective, the carriers continued to sell this data without protecting it from unauthorized access.  

Infosecurity Magazine reports: "FCC Fines Carriers $200m For Selling User Location Data"