Quick question: Do you think it’s illegal for companies to sell your location data? If you said yes, you’re not alone. However, T-Mobile might beg to differ. Fortunately for privacy advocates, the courts also agree and have ruled in favor of the FCC when it fined T-Mobile for selling location data.
T-Mobile fined for selling location data
This stems from a case dating back to April 2024. T-Mobile, along with Verizon and AT&T, were fined by the FCC for selling location data to aggregators. These aggregators then shared it with third-party location-based service providers. All three carriers were forced to pay fines.
AT&T was hit with a fine of $57 million, Verizon with $48 million, and T-Mobile with $92 million. This figure is a combination of fines on both T-Mobile and Sprint. However, T-Mobile decided to appeal the fine. The carrier isn’t denying what it has done, but rather, it argues that what it did wasn’t in violation of the law.
According to US District Court Judge Florence Pan, “Neither denies what happened. Instead, they argue that the undisputed facts do not amount to a violation of the law.”
T-Mobile claims that the FCC had misinterpreted the Communications Act. They also allege that the FCC has miscalculated the fine and did not allow them to have a jury trial, violating their Seventh Amendment rights. However, the court was not buying their argument and ruled in favor of the FCC.
T-Mobile’s response
Unsurprisingly, T-Mobile isn’t thrilled by the verdict. The company issued a statement in response to the ruling by saying, “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.”
However, according to Eric Null, co-director of the Privacy and Data Project at the Center for Democracy and Technology, he sees this as a win. Null said, “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”
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