- The FCC levied fines against U.S. wireless operators in 2024 for illegally sharing access to customer location information
- T-Mobile asked an appeals court to review the FCC’s $92 million fine against T-Mobile and Sprint
- A D.C. court on Friday ruled in favor of the FCC, saying the carriers had a duty to protect customer information from misuse by third parties
The U.S. District Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled Friday in favor of the FCC after it decided that the agency lawfully levied fines against T-Mobile and Sprint when they failed to take measures protecting customer location information from being sold to third parties.
The case stems from an FCC decision in 2024 where T-Mobile and Sprint were fined a combined $92 million for failing to protect customer location-based services (LBS) information. AT&T and Verizon, which also faced fines, separately pursued their own appeals and were not a party to the court decision handed down last week.
U.S. District Court Judge Florence Pan said T-Mobile and Sprint had a duty to protect customer location information from misuse by third parties, but that the carriers failed to promptly take action even after they became aware of serious abuses.
“Neither denies what happened. Instead, they argue that the undisputed facts do not amount to a violation of the law,” Pan wrote in the court’s opinion. “The carriers also argue that the commission misinterpreted the Communications Act, miscalculated the penalties and violated the Seventh Amendment by not affording them a jury trial. Because the carriers’ arguments lack merit, we deny the petitions for review.”
Federal law restricts how and when wireless carriers can share customer location data and there are a lot of legit reasons for sharing a cell phone's location, like for 911 and ride-sharing apps.
But the object of the FCC's investigation goes back many years, when in 2018 U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) highlighted a case in which law enforcement agencies were able to get citizens’ locations by uploading any document – without a court order or other legal process.
That set off a series of investigations that ultimately culminated in fines against the major carriers. AT&T was fined more than $57 million, Verizon almost $47 million and T-Mobile was hit with the biggest fine – $80 million. The fine against Sprint, which T-Mobile acquired in 2020, amounted to $12 million.
T-Mobile: Nothing new to add
According to T-Mobile, it quit sharing the rogue location information a long time ago.
“We discontinued our location-based services program more than six years ago. We are currently reviewing the court’s action and don’t have anything new to add at this time,” a T-Mobile spokesperson told Fierce.
Privacy advocates applauded the D.C. Circuit Court’s decision.
“The DC Circuit’s welcome decision rejects Sprint and T-Mobile’s arguments that they should not be held accountable for their willingness to sell off customers’ location data to the highest bidder and violate the law,” said Eric Null, co-director of the Privacy and Data Project at the Center for Democracy and Technology in a statement provided to Fierce.
“This is a huge win for privacy and for everyone who owns a cell phone. Location data is one of the most personal and sensitive types of data and is particularly harmful in the hands of bad actors. It is important the FCC continues to remain vigilant against this type of behavior,” he said.