A U.S. federal appeals court has ruled that Verizon must pay a $46.9 million penalty for unlawfully selling customers’ real-time location information. The decision closes the door on Verizon’s argument that its practices were legal, reinforcing the Federal Communications Commission’s authority to regulate privacy in the wireless industry.
Why the Fine Was Issued
In April 2024, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced nearly $200 million in fines against several major mobile carriers for giving outside companies access to sensitive location data. These firms then passed the information to other parties, including bail-bond services and bounty hunters. According to regulators, this exposed consumers to significant risks and demonstrated a failure by carriers to adopt basic safeguards, even after repeated warnings. Verizon’s share of the fines was $46.9 million, which it sought to challenge in court.
Verizon’s Legal Challenge
The company argued before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit that device-location records should not fall under the category of “customer proprietary network information” protected by Section 222 of the Communications Act. This provision requires carriers to keep certain customer data private. Verizon claimed that location details were not covered by this rule and that the FCC had exceeded its powers by penalizing them.
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