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Verizon to shell out $7.4 million to settle FCC marketing privacy investigation

An FCC investigation determined that Verizon failed to offer around two million new customers instructions on how to decline personal info being used in marketing tactics. The Commission announced today that Big Red would pay $7.4 million to settle the matter, and it has to notify customers of their right to opt out on very bill they'll receive for the next three years. While phone companies collect personal info from customers on the regular, use is limited to things like marketing, but only if the chance to say "no thanks" is explicitly offered. When the participation process isn't working correctly, the FCC has to be notified within five business days -- something Verizon did not do. Going back to 2006, millions of cases were found where the opt-out notices weren't properly disclosed. Although Verizon found the issue in September of 2012, it did not notify the FCC until 126 days later, in January of 2013. The sum that Verizon stands to pay out is the largest of its kind to date for settling an investigation into personal data privacy for landline customers.

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