The FCC announced nearly $200 million in penalties on April 29, 2024, after finding that AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint improperly allowed third parties to access customers’ wireless location information without adequate consent or safeguards. The carriers challenged the penalties. On June 4, 2026, the Supreme Court upheld the FCC’s general forfeiture procedure in litigation involving AT&T and Verizon, but it did not hold a new factual trial on whether every carrier violated the law.
How much was each carrier fined?
The FCC’s rounded figures were:
| Carrier | FCC penalty |
|---|---|
| AT&T | More than $57 million |
| Verizon | Almost $47 million |
| T-Mobile | $80 million |
| Sprint | More than $12 million |
The total was nearly $200 million, according to the FCC’s April 29, 2024 announcement. Sprint was listed separately even though it had merged with T-Mobile before the penalties were finalized.
What location data was involved?
The case concerned customer location information associated with wireless service and derived from carrier networks—not every GPS coordinate collected by a phone app. A carrier can estimate where a connected phone is from its interactions with cell sites and other network infrastructure. That is distinct from GPS data generated by a handset, location gathered by apps or advertising software, and information handled for emergency response.
The FCC said carriers made location information available through third-party location-service providers. The issue was not simply that carriers processed location to connect phones or run their networks; the agency found that the arrangements enabled access without sufficient customer consent and reasonable protections against misuse. The FCC’s account describes access by entities including bail-bond companies and bounty hunters, but that does not mean every carrier directly sold data to every such entity or that every customer’s information was accessed.
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The Supreme Court’s account discusses Securus, a provider offering location-finding services to law-enforcement officers. It recounts reporting that a Missouri sheriff accessed the service despite submitting materials that were not a valid warrant or equivalent authorization. That example illustrates the risk of weak controls; it is not a finding that every transaction or carrier involved the same conduct. (Supreme Court opinion)
Why did the FCC say the conduct violated federal law?
The FCC relied on Section 222 of the Communications Act and related rules, including 47 C.F.R. § 64.2010. Section 222 imposes duties on telecommunications carriers to protect customer information. The agency treated the location information at issue as protected customer information and concluded that the carriers had not met their obligations to keep it confidential and control access. The underlying orders are available in the FCC forfeiture order.
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These were FCC agency findings, not admissions by the carriers. They contested the action, disputing the agency’s legal and factual basis and challenging whether the FCC could impose penalties through its process without a jury trial. Contemporary coverage quoted AT&T calling the order without legal and factual merit. (Associated Press)
Why did the penalties arrive years after the programs?
- 2018: Public reporting raised concerns about third-party access to wireless location information.
- 2020: The FCC issued notices of apparent liability, giving carriers an opportunity to respond.
- April 29, 2024: The FCC finalized the penalties after reviewing the carriers’ responses. The programs at issue were historical; the FCC action did not mean the same arrangements were still operating in 2024.
- June 4, 2026: The Supreme Court decided the consolidated AT&T and Verizon cases, resolving a dispute about the FCC’s penalty procedure.
What did the Supreme Court decide in 2026?
The Court addressed whether the FCC’s forfeiture process violated the Seventh Amendment right to a jury trial. It held that an FCC forfeiture order under this procedure does not itself conclusively establish a carrier’s obligation to pay. If the government seeks to force collection from a carrier that has not paid, it must prove its case in federal court; the statutory framework provides for a trial de novo.
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The Court affirmed the Second Circuit judgment in Verizon’s case and reversed and remanded the Fifth Circuit judgment in AT&T’s case. AT&T and Verizon had paid their penalties while seeking review. The opinion did not decide what refunds or other relief might be available to them.
This was a ruling about enforcement procedure, not a new factual trial of the FCC’s allegations. It should not be read as a blanket authorization for carriers to sell precise location data, nor as a ruling that every factual allegation against every carrier was proven by the Supreme Court. (Supreme Court opinion)
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Does the fine mean customers get money?
No automatic customer refund or payment program was announced with the FCC penalties. A government forfeiture is a penalty paid to the government, not compensation automatically distributed to subscribers. Any separate private lawsuit, settlement or individual claim would need its own legal basis; the FCC action alone does not establish that a customer is entitled to a share.
Can carriers still use location information?
The case concerned particular historical location-service arrangements, not every use of location by a wireless carrier. Carriers still process location information for network operation and maintenance, billing and fraud prevention, emergency services, compliance with lawful government requests, customer-requested services, and other uses permitted by law and applicable privacy terms. Those operational uses are different from giving outside commercial intermediaries access without adequate consent or safeguards.
What can you do to reduce location-data exposure?
- Check your carrier account. Review its privacy dashboard and account settings. Opt out of optional marketing, analytics or location-based programs when the carrier offers that choice.
- Review app permissions on your phone. Limit location access for apps that do not need it, turn off precise location where appropriate, and remove unused apps or background access.
- Check platform location histories separately. Google, Apple and other account-level location controls are separate from carrier settings.
- Use the device’s location control with realistic expectations. Disabling phone location services can restrict GPS-based access by apps, but it may not stop the cellular network from processing information needed to connect the device.
- Raise suspected misuse with regulators. You can file a complaint with the FCC or your state attorney general. A complaint does not itself guarantee compensation.
A VPN is not a solution to carrier network-location tracking. It can obscure your IP-based location from websites and some network observers, but it does not prevent a cellular carrier from handling the phone’s connection to its network. Likewise, opting out of targeted advertising may not disable network, billing, emergency or fraud-prevention uses, and deleting an app does not necessarily erase information already held by a carrier, app provider or data broker.
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