Verizon is the target of a new class-action complaint that claims the company was gathering customer data and selling it to outside parties without the users’ permission. A lawsuit against carriers is not new, and Verizon is no different. Customers began collecting compensation from a class-action lawsuit until recently. The telecom company is already dealing with new legal issues, this time related to claims that it sold consumer data to unapproved third parties.
What was this lawsuit regarding?
In her class action case, petitioner Susan Taylor argues that Verizon improperly obtained its customers’ authorization before selling their data to third-party businesses, data processors, and other companies. According to her, Verizon revealed geographical data, surfing history, and app activity, all used to build accurate profiles for personalized advertisements. This move is an unjustified violation of privacy, according to the lawsuit. Customers whose private data was gathered, shared, and sold by the carrier without their permission are the clients Taylor wishes to represent.
According to Taylor, Verizon violated the Federal Wiretap Act and engaged in negligence, unfair advantage, and violation of privacy. The plaintiff seeks compensatory, legal, and monetary penalties for herself and every member of the class, as well as a jury trial. Similar concerns about overreach and privacy violations have also surfaced in the FBI mistaken house raid lawsuit, where law enforcement’s actions raised serious questions about due process and accountability. Due to allegations that Verizon collected and kept customer voiceprints without getting the necessary authorization or making sufficient disclosures, two customers launched a separate class action complaint against the corporation last year.
Other companies related to this incident
In addition to mentioning how each provider eventually gave data to a business named Securus, which enabled low-level law enforcement to find phones without a warrant, the charges against T-Mobile, AT&T, and Sprint are the same, as The New York Times originally reported in 2018. The Securus case is the only subject of the complaint against Verizon. However, according to a recent Motherboard article, Verizon sold data that eventually landed into the hands of Captira, which subsequently sold it to the bail bondsman sector.
Fifteen senators demanded that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) carefully look into the sale of phone geolocation data following Motherboard’s investigation. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai was invited to give an emergency briefing on the matter by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, but he declined.
Verizon has begun paying out consumers for an unjust “Administrative Charge” that was not properly disclosed. In reality, Verizon is not the only business facing class-action lawsuits. Large internet companies frequently lose court cases, which frequently lead to compensation for impacted users. T-Mobile, for example, is being sued similarly for apparently charging unfair fees. A class-action lawsuit concerning battery problems in previous Apple Watch models was also recently settled by Apple. Even while these kinds of legal action are frequent in the business sector, they are a crucial reminder that no corporation is free from responsibility. To defend our rights as consumers, we must hold technology companies responsible.
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Read related cases in our Consumer & Product Lawsuits section.
