Technology
AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile hit with lawsuit for selling data
The four major wireless telecommunication companies in the U.S. have just been hit with massive class action lawsuit.
The suit that AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile all violated customers’ privacy by to third party brokers. In turn, these brokers would then sell the data to bounty hunters, bail bondsmen, debt collectors, and middlemen.
The complaint that the four biggest U.S. mobile carriers violated federal communications law by sharing phone numbers, geolocation data, and other account information. The class action covers approximately 300 million customers ranging from April 30, 2015 and February 15, 2019 spread out between the four companies.
The data selling practice was brought to light earlier in 2019 through an investigation by . The report detailed how a bounty hunter was able to track a phone’s location with nothing more than a phone number through third-party services that receive real-time data directly from the telecommunication companies. Motherboard paid a $300 fee for the data.
Following the report, 15 U.S. Senators called on the FCC and FTC to into the four companies and the data selling practice.
The lawsuits were filed against Z Law, which bills itself as a “consumer protection law firm.” Lawyers are seeking unspecified damages which will be determined at trial.
-
Business7 days ago
Tesla drops prices, Meta confirms Llama 3 release, and Apple allows emulators in the App Store
-
Business6 days ago
TechCrunch Mobility: Cruise robotaxis return and Ford’s BlueCruise comes under scrutiny
-
Business5 days ago
Tesla layoffs hit high performers, some departments slashed, sources say
-
Entertainment6 days ago
‘The Sympathizer’ review: Park Chan-wook’s Vietnam War spy thriller is TV magic
-
Business5 days ago
Meta to close Threads in Turkey to comply with injunction prohibiting data-sharing with Instagram
-
Business4 days ago
Former top SpaceX exec Tom Ochinero sets up new VC firm, filings reveal
-
Entertainment4 days ago
ChatGPT vs. Gemini: Which AI chatbot won our 5-round match?
-
Business4 days ago
Tesla layoffs hit high performers, some departments slashed, sources say