Mobile Phone Carriers Slammed for Selling User Geolocation

The FCC fined mobile carriers AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon nearly $200 million for illegally sharing customers’ personal information without their consent. The personal information in question included user geolocation histories, which the companies shared with third parties, including to prisons, for commercial gain. Oregon Sen. Wyden said that “No one who signed up for a cell plan thought they were giving permission for their phone company to sell a detailed record of their movements to anyone with a credit card” and applauded the FCC’s “holding these companies accountable for putting customers’ lives and privacy at risk.”