Court rebuffs request by telecoms to review $92 million privacy fine | CyberScoop<\/title> <meta name=\"description\" content=\"A district appeals court ruled that the FCC \u201ccorrectly determined\u201d that telecoms had a duty to protect customer location data that was sold and later misused by third parties. \"> <link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/fcc-court-upholds-92-million-dollar-fine-on-telecoms\/\"> <meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\"> <meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\"> <meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Court rebuffs request by telecoms to review $92 million privacy fine \"> <meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A district appeals court ruled that the FCC \u201ccorrectly determined\u201d that telecoms had a duty to protect customer location data that was sold and later misused by third parties. \"> <meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/fcc-court-upholds-92-million-dollar-fine-on-telecoms\/\"> <meta 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class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p> <main id=\"main\" role=\"main\" tabindex=\"-1\"> <\/p>\n<div class=\"ad ad--top ad--top-mobile\">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<section id=\"stickybar\" class=\"stickybar stickybar--newsletter js-stickybar\" readability=\"0.82\"> <button class=\"stickybar__close js-stickybar-close\" aria-controls=\"stickybar\"> <svg class=\"icon icon--close\" width=\"21\" height=\"22\" viewBox=\"0 0 21 22\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"m.822.518-.805.805L9.695 11 .017 20.678l.805.805 9.678-9.678 9.677 9.678.806-.805L11.305 11l9.678-9.677-.806-.805-9.677 9.677L.822.518Z\" fill=\"currentColor\" \/><\/svg> <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Close<\/span> <\/button> <\/section>\n<article class=\"single-article content\">\n<div class=\"single-article__container js-single-article-content\">\n<header class=\"single-article__header \" readability=\"25.345896147404\">\n<div class=\"single-article__header-content\" readability=\"33.942857142857\">\n<ul class=\"single-article__eyebrow\">\n<li class=\"single-article__category\"> <a class=\"single-article__category-link\" href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/fcc-court-upholds-92-million-dollar-fine-on-telecoms\/\"> <span>Government<\/span> <\/a> <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> A district appeals court ruled that the FCC \u201ccorrectly determined\u201d that telecoms had a duty to protect customer location data that was sold and later misused by third parties. <\/p>\n<p>  <br \/>\n<audio id=\"audio-player\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-tts-cdn.api.scpnewsgrp.com\/cyberscoop\/85599\/english.openai.mp3\"><\/audio> <\/p>\n<div readability=\"11\">\n<div>\n<p>Listen to this article<\/p>\n<p>  <\/p>\n<p>0:00<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>  <\/p>\n<p> <span id=\"tts-tooltip\">Learn more.<\/span> <span> This feature uses an automated voice, which may result in occasional errors in pronunciation, tone, or sentiment. <\/span> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>  <\/div>\n<div class=\"single-article__cover-wrap\">\n<figure class=\"single-article__cover\"> <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" fetchpriority=\"high\" width=\"640\" height=\"426\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/court-rebuffs-request-by-telecoms-to-review-92-million-privacy-fine.jpg?resize=640%2C426&ssl=1\" class=\"single-article__cover-image wp-post-image\" alt=\"T-Mobile\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/court-rebuffs-request-by-telecoms-to-review-92-million-privacy-fine-2.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/court-rebuffs-request-by-telecoms-to-review-92-million-privacy-fine-2.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/court-rebuffs-request-by-telecoms-to-review-92-million-privacy-fine-2.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/court-rebuffs-request-by-telecoms-to-review-92-million-privacy-fine-2.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/court-rebuffs-request-by-telecoms-to-review-92-million-privacy-fine-2.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/court-rebuffs-request-by-telecoms-to-review-92-million-privacy-fine-2.jpg?resize=600,400 600w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/court-rebuffs-request-by-telecoms-to-review-92-million-privacy-fine-2.jpg?resize=252,168 252w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/court-rebuffs-request-by-telecoms-to-review-92-million-privacy-fine-2.jpg?resize=506,337 506w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/court-rebuffs-request-by-telecoms-to-review-92-million-privacy-fine-2.jpg?resize=1013,675 1013w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/court-rebuffs-request-by-telecoms-to-review-92-million-privacy-fine-2.jpg?resize=1265,843 1265w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1013px) 100vw, 1013px\"><figcaption> A T-Mobile retail store at the Pentagon Row shopping district in August 2021 in Arlington, Virginia. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla\/Getty Images) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"single-article__content\">\n<div class=\"single-article__content-inner has-drop-cap\"> <html readability=\"37.636518771331\"><body readability=\"75.751118568233\"><\/p>\n<p>A federal district court declined to step in and review a combined $92 million fine imposed by the Federal Communications Commission on T-Mobile and Sprint for selling customer geolocation data to third parties, saying Congress has recognized \u201cthe highly sensitive nature\u201d of such information.<\/p>\n<p>In a unanimous decision, the U.S. District Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled that the FCC \u201ccorrectly determined\u201d that customer location data is protected under the Communications Act and that \u201cThe Carriers therefore had a duty to protect such information from misuse by third parties.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Judge Florence Pan, who authored the opinion, said the FCC also \u201creasonably concluded\u201d that Sprint and T-Mobile violated that duty when they failed to take measures to prevent buyers from abusing access to that location data.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIndeed, the Carriers failed to promptly take such measures even after they became aware of serious abuses,\u201d Pan <a href=\"https:\/\/media.cadc.uscourts.gov\/opinions\/docs\/2025\/08\/24-1224-2130255.pdf\">wrote<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad ad--inline_1 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>In 2018, the New York Times reported that a Missouri sheriff <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2018\/05\/10\/technology\/cellphone-tracking-law-enforcement.html\">used data sold by the carriers<\/a> to track the location of a judge and state law enforcement officers.<\/p>\n<p>That kicked off a broader investigation by the FCC into the data-selling practices of T-Mobile, Sprint, Verizon and AT&T. T-Mobile acquired Sprint in 2020.<\/p>\n<p>The investigation found that all four companies had programs in place until at least 2019 that sold access to the location data of customers to two data aggregators, LocationSmart and Zumigo. Those companies in turn sold that data to dozens of different third-party, location-based service providers and other businesses. Because both Sprint and T-Mobile phones must continually ping nearby cell towers to maintain network service, their location data could provide constant real-time tracking of individuals.<\/p>\n<p>The investigation found the telecoms had effectively shirked their regulatory requirements to safeguard their own customers\u2019 location data by outsourcing responsibility to their third-party buyers in contract language. Meanwhile, internal audits of the companies\u2019 customer data-sharing programs revealed numerous instances where auditors knew third parties were not holding to those agreements.<\/p>\n<p>The FCC fined the companies <a href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/fcc-fines-wireless-carriers-200-million\/\">a combined $200 million<\/a>, with T-Mobile on the hook for $92 million in penalties between their own offenses and the Sprint acquisition.Pan expressed incredulity that T-Mobile and Sprint would ask a court to intervene on their behalf without substantively disputing the FCC\u2019s case.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad ad--inline_1 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cNeither denies what happened. Instead, they argue that the undisputed facts do not amount to a violation of the law,\u201d Pan wrote, adding that these and other legal arguments by the telecoms about the case \u201clack merit.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Reached for comment, a T-Mobile spokesperson told CyberScoop that the company is \u201ccurrently reviewing the court\u2019s action. We don\u2019t have anything new to add right now.\u201d Last year, the telecom told CyberScoop they halted the sale of location data to third-party aggregators in 2019.<\/p>\n<p>Eric Null, co-director of privacy and data at the Center for Democracy and Technology, called the ruling a \u201cwelcome decision,\u201d and argued that such fines were necessary to hold telecoms accountable when they \u201csell off customers\u2019 location data to the highest bidder and violate the law.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is a huge win for privacy and for everyone who owns a cell phone,\u201d Null said in a statement. \u201cLocation data is one of the most personal and sensitive types of data, and is particularly harmful in the hands of bad actors.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><\/body> <\/p>\n<footer class=\"single-article__footer\" readability=\"3.7409523809524\">\n<div class=\"author-card\" readability=\"13\">\n<div class=\"author-card__avatar\">\n<figure class=\"author-card__image-wrap\"> <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"author-card__image\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/court-rebuffs-request-by-telecoms-to-review-92-million-privacy-fine-1.jpg?w=640&ssl=1\" alt=\"Derek B. Johnson\"> <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><h4 class=\"author-card__name\">Written by Derek B. Johnson<\/h4>\n<p> Derek B. Johnson is a reporter at CyberScoop, where his beat includes cybersecurity, elections and the federal government. Prior to that, he has provided award-winning coverage of cybersecurity news across the public and private sectors for various publications since 2017. Derek has a bachelor\u2019s degree in print journalism from Hofstra University in New York and a master\u2019s degree in public policy from George Mason University in Virginia. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"single-article__tags-container\">\n<h4 class=\"single-article__tags-title\">In This Story<\/h4>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/footer>\n<p> <\/html><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"single-article__ads js-single-article-sidebar\">\n<div class=\"ad ad--sidebar js-single-article-sidebar-5 ad--rightrail_1 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ad ad--sidebar js-single-article-sidebar-4 ad--rightrail_2 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ad ad--sidebar js-single-article-sidebar-3 ad--rightrail_3 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> 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{"id":7903,"date":"2025-08-15T14:22:53","date_gmt":"2025-08-15T19:22:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/?p=85599"},"modified":"2025-08-15T14:22:53","modified_gmt":"2025-08-15T19:22:53","slug":"court-rebuffs-request-by-telecoms-to-review-92-million-privacy-fine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/2025\/08\/15\/court-rebuffs-request-by-telecoms-to-review-92-million-privacy-fine\/","title":{"rendered":"Court rebuffs request by telecoms to review $92 million privacy fine\u00a0\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"