Is T-Mobile Selling Location Data?

It has recently surfaced that major cell phone companies in the United States have been selling location data to third-party aggregators.

While the problem of companies like T-Mobile selling location data of their customers is issue enough, another issue has surfaced: even though these cell phone companies claim that they have stopped or will soon stop selling this information, reports indicate that the companies are still using these practices.

What Was the 2018 Cell Phone Company Location Data Scandal?

In 2018, it was found that the largest cell phone companies in the country—T-Mobile, AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint—were selling consumer location data to third party brokers, including LocationSmart. The New York Times reported in May 2018 about the prison telecom company Securus that allegedly enabled law enforcement officers to locate the cell phones of the majority of Americans within a matter of seconds.

Jessica Rosenworcel, a commissioner with the FCC, followed up with these companies to ask exactly when they ceased (or plan to cease) selling consumer location data. Rosenworcel noted that she would release the companies’ responses to the public.

“The FCC has been totally silent about press reports that for a few hundred dollars, shady middlemen can sell your location within a few hundred meters based on your wireless phone data. That’s unacceptable. I don’t recall consenting to this surveillance when I signed up for wireless service—and I bet neither do you.” Rosenworcel wrote.

Each of these four companies has come forward and claimed that they would soon stop selling this data. AT&T said they ended these “aggregator services” in March 2019. Verizon said they have “fully terminated” their “location aggregator arrangements.” Sprint said that after May 31, 2019, it will “no longer contract with any location aggregators.” T-Mobile said that it had terminated location-based service contracts with aggregators as of March 2019.

While the companies claim they have stopped selling consumer location data, some people aren’t quick to believe them.

Indeed, some consumers have even turned to litigation, filing class action lawsuits against these major cell phone carriers, alleging that the companies shared customer location data without their consent.

Are Companies Still Selling My Location Information?

So are companies like T-Mobile selling location data anymore? According to a Vice investigation published in January 2019—half a year after all four major cell phone companies pledged to stop selling this information to third parties—the companies had not, in fact, stopped selling location data.

The data “is ending up in the hands of bounty hunters and others not authorized to possess it, letting them track most phones in the company,” Vice reported.

“It is chilling to think what a black market for this data could mean in the hands of criminals, stalkers, and those who wish to do us harm,” Rosenworcel wrote in her statement.

Can I File a Cell Phone Location Data Lawsuit?

If you had a phone number through T-Mobile, AT&T, Verizon, or Sprint and made a call from that number anytime between April 26, 2015 and February 9, 2019, you may be able to join this cell phone data location privacy class action lawsuit investigation.

Join a Free Cell Phone Location Data Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you had a phone number through AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, or Sprint and made a call with that number between Apr. 26, 2015 and Feb. 9, 2019, you may be eligible to join this cell phone location data  class action lawsuit investigation.

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This article is not legal advice. It is presented
for informational purposes only.