AT&T Lawsuit Claims the Company Sells Customer Data
A class action lawsuit has been filed against AT&T, claiming that it unlawfully sells customer data to third parties.
The AT&T class action lawsuit was filed by Katherine Scott, Carolyn Jewel, and George Pontis who say AT&T advertises to its customers that it does not sell their personal information to anyone for any purpose.
But the lawsuit alleges that AT&T sells real-time location data to organizations including credit agencies, bail bondsmen, bounty hunters, and prison officials. They claim that AT&T’s sale of their data is an “egregious and dangerous breach of all AT&T’s privacy, and represents a violation of state and federal law.”
The AT&T class action says that federal law prohibits AT&T from sharing the information with third parties “except in rare public safety scenarios or with the customer ’s affirmative, express consent.”
Two of the aggregators that AT&T works with include LocationSmart and Zumigo. Allegedly, they manage the sale of AT&T consumer data to thousands of entities without consumer consent and outside the approved emergency uses.
AT&T Lawsuit Details
The AT&T Unlawful Location Data Sale Class Action Lawsuit is Katherine Scott, et al. v. AT&T Inc., et al., Case No. 3:19-cv-04063-DMR, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, San Fransisco/Oakland Division.
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Apparently, it’s not enough for AT&T and others to charge you outrageous telecom rates for mediocre services. They have to sell your private data? If found to be guilty, I hope the court come down hard on these guys, punishingly hard. Only then, others will take note. But if they can make more money by selling your data than what the penalty is, they will continue to do it.