Crime Today News
Major smartphone carriers in the US sometimes find themselves in a spot of bother for violating laws due to their business practices. As a result, they face hefty penalties from the authorities. In a similar case, the FCC handed T-Mobile a $92 million fine in April 2024. The authority first proposed this fine back in 2020, when it found out that the carrier was sending customer’s location data to third parties. Now, T-Mobile is challenging the FCC’s decision in court.
T-Mobile has challenged in court the $92 million fine imposed by the FCC
T-Mobile is reportedly challenging the FCC’s decision based on a decision from last year by the Supreme Court that stripped the power of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Last year, the Supreme Court ruled that the SEC can’t use in-house tribunals to seek damages. The court ordered that the SEC should rather go to the Federal court, where juries decide a case.
Now, T-Mobile argues that this very ruling by the Supreme Court invalidates the FCC’s penalty system. However, the FCC had previously argued that the ruling didn’t apply. That’s because companies have the option of refusing to pay the fine or allowing the DOJ to take over the case. If the company chooses the second option, a jury trial would be reportedly possible.
Fortunately for T-Mobile, the FCC’s argument didn’t convince judges. They stated that the proposed routes require companies to waive legal objections. This was one of the reasons that let T-Mobile and others challenge the FCC’s decision in court.
That’s not all; since the carriers had a system in place to keep the customer’s location data safe, only a limited number of uses were affected by unauthorized access. This very fact also weakened the FCC’s case. However, the authority still argues that the carriers didn’t do enough to protect the customers’ data.
The judges asked carriers to handle all customer data responsibly
T-Mobile and other carriers, including Verizon and AT&T, reportedly also argued that the Communications Act doesn’t protect certain user data. The companies say that the law only holds them responsible for data related to voice services and not data services. The judges were quite skeptical about this claim. Therefore, they reportedly said that carriers must ensure to protect all data customers share with them. Only time will tell who will walk out of court with a smile.
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