Half of America suspected T-Mobile's latest move: it won't have any choice but to pay

Something was in the air. T-Mobile had been under scrutiny for months, but few imagined that it would ultimately have to pay such a staggering amount. What seemed like a forgotten story has returned with force, this time with real consequences for one of the largest companies in the mobile sector.

The legal battle has ended, and the result is not going to please the operator at all. Everything began in April 2024. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) imposed a series of multimillion-dollar penalties on several operators, including Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, and, of course, T-Mobile.

The reason was the sale of users' location data to intermediary companies, known as aggregators. They, in turn, shared this information with external providers. A scandal that called into question these companies' commitment to their customers' privacy.

T-Mobile will have no other choice

The fines were not new. In fact, they were initially proposed in 2020, but years went by in review until they were finally confirmed. In total, T-Mobile received a penalty of 80 million dollars, while Sprint was fined 12 million.

Since both companies merged, the joint fine rose to 92 million dollars. T-Mobile, not satisfied with the decision, appealed the measure in hopes of avoiding that multimillion-dollar payment.

However, just a few days ago, the United States District Court of Appeals closed the case definitively. The ruling fully supported the FCC, making it clear that the agency acted within legal boundaries when sanctioning the operator. All because they did not adequately protect their customers' location data.

According to Judge Florence Pan, both T-Mobile and Sprint failed by not acting in a timely manner. Even after knowing that the information was being misused.

Judge Pan was blunt. The companies did not deny the facts, but tried to justify their actions by saying they did not break the law. They argued that the FCC misinterpreted the current regulations, miscalculated the fines, and that they were even denied a jury trial.

None of that convinced the court, which rejected the arguments as unfounded.

T-Mobile's reaction

T-Mobile replied with a brief statement. "We discontinued our location-based services program more than six years ago. We are currently reviewing the court's action and have nothing new to add at this time," they stated.

Therefore, the operator will no longer be able to dodge this 92-million-dollar fine. They will have to get out the checkbook and take responsibility for practices that, although no longer in effect, still carry a high legal and reputational cost.