AT&T Sued Over Improper Use of Subscribers’ Data
The Federal Trade Commission began investigating data collection and sharing practices at AT&T and other providers a few weeks ago, amid suspicion that subscribers’ locations are too easy to find. Now, on top of this investigation, an AT&T customer has filed a class action lawsuit against the company over the data security issue.
The AT&T class action lawsuit was filed by Tyler Morrison. The customer argues that the company sells subscribers’ location information, with no regard to how that information is used. He aims to stop the company from sharing his and other consumers’ data without investigating the buyers of this information. Morrison claims that he and other users are injured by this data collection because their information could be misused. Allegedly, AT&T customers did not consent to this practice, and were not told how their data would be used.
Morrison seeks an injunction barring AT&T from continuing this allegedly harmful practice and seeks damages on behalf of himself and similarly affected consumers.
AT&T disputes these claims, saying that the company has not shared data without first obtaining consumers’ permission. Additionally, the company claimed that after it found out that the buyers of the information were misusing it, the company stopped selling the data.
Further defending their product, AT&T noted that “location-based services like roadside assistance, fraud protection, and medical devices alerts have clear and even life-saving benefits.”
This AT&T lawsuit is still in its early stages, so it’s not known yet if there will be a settlement, or if AT&T planes to change the practice.
The AT&T Data Collection Class Action Lawsuit is Morrison v. AT&T Mobility LLC, Case No. 1:19-cv-01257, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland.
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