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FCC fines Comcast $2.3 million for shady billing practices (updated)
Comcast is no stranger to customer complaints, but today the service provider's practices cost it $2.3 million. That fine will settle an FCC investigation into whether the company was charging its customers for services and equipment that they didn't authorize. The practice of so-called "negative option billing" charges subscribers for items that they don't explicitly turn down. The FCC explains that the practice forces customers to spend the time and effort to contact the cable company to dispute the charges and seek a refund.
Brazil freezes Facebook funds over WhatsApp evidence spat
A Brazilian court has frozen 19.5-million reals ($6-million) of Facebook's cash after the social network's messaging service, WhatsApp, failed to hand over data as part of a criminal investigation. Reuters reports that Brazilian law enforcement sought access to messages that could link drug smugglers from a number of recent raids. The court targeted Facebook Inc, as WhatsApp doesn't have any financial operations in the country.
FAA fines Amazon for two more shipments of unlabeled chemicals
Last week, the FAA announced a $350,000 fine for Amazon after the retailer mishandled chemical shipments that resulted in injuries to UPS workers. Today, the agency hit the company with two more fines totaling $130,000 for similar incidents. In 2014, Amazon shipped separate packages, corrosive rust remover and a flammable gas used to clean air conditioners without properly labeling the boxes or sending along the required paperwork. Failure to do so violates the FAA's hazardous materials guidelines. The box containing Rid O' Rust Stain Preventer Acid leaked through, but there were no injuries reported.
Amazon angers FAA by shipping industrial chemicals via UPS
The FAA wants to slap Amazon with a $350,000 fine for suspected violations of the Hazardous Materials regulations. According to the agency, Amazon has been caught shipping volatile, potentially dangerous chemicals without proper care and attention. In this case, the firm handed a gallon container of a drain cleaner to UPS for a flight between Louisville and Boulder. This wasn't any old carton of Drano, however, but a chemical called Amazing Liquid Fire, which looks like the sort of homemade explosive that'd be pulled from shelves the day it went on sale.
France fines Google for breaking 'right to be forgotten' law
Europe's "right to be forgotten" law is a boon to privacy, helping individuals hide embarrassing Facebook posts and other "out-of-date and irrelevant" results from search engines. However, many think it tramples on the public's right to know, as quite a few examples have shown. Everyone agrees that it's hard to enforce, thanks to the border-free nature of the internet. The law is about to get a new test, because France has slapped a €100,000 ($112,000) fine on Google over its refusal to fully remove results on sites outside the nation.
Verizon can't share web activity with advertisers unless you opt in
Last spring, Verizon began offering its customers a way to opt out of the "supercookies" that track activity for advertisers to leverage. Following a settlement with the FCC, the wireless company must give customers the choice to opt in to the program rather than employing the tracking system by default. Verizon has to notify customers about its use of the unique undeletable identifiers, or UIDH, for targeted advertising. Only after users give consent is the company able to share any web browsing data with either third parties or within its corporate family.
California fines Uber $7.6 million for not reporting driver data
Uber was hit with a $7.6 million fine on Thursday after the California Public Utilities Commission found that the company failed to provide proper data on its drivers in 2014. Uber plans to pay the fine to avoid a suspension of its operating license, though it will appeal the ruling, the Los Angeles Times reports. In July 2015, a judge recommended Uber be fined upwards of $7 million for failing to provide relevant driver data under California's new ride-hailing laws. Today's fine stems from that recommendation.
LifeLock forced to pay $100 million FTC fine
LifeLock is a company that purports to provide protection for people at risk of identity theft in exchange for a monthly fee of $10. The FTC doesn't feel that the firm does enough to justify that fee, which is why it's slapped the business with a $100 million fine. Officials believe that LifeLock has been exaggerating the extent of its services, saying that it hasn't done enough -- or anything -- to protect personal data like social security, credit card and bank account numbers. It's not the first time that LifeLock has been told off by the FTC after being found guilty of exaggerating its services in 2012 and failing to protect its customers in 2012.
Self-balancing skateboards are illegal in New York, too
If you ride a self-balancing skateboard in New York, you won't have just the seething hatred of those around you to deal with. A tweet from NYPD's 26th precinct, since deleted, pointed out that using the tech is illegal, and both IGN and Gothamist followed up with the relevant parts of state law. Apparently, Title 19, Chapter 1, Subchapter 3, Section 19-176.2 of New York's code actively prohibits such devices from being used in the streets. The legislation says that any "motorized scooter" that propels people with power, but can't be registered with the DMV, can't be taken out and about. If an official spots you, then you could face a fine of up to $500, although we'd politely suggest that they've got bigger fish to fry than an obnoxious Vine kid playing with their birthday present. [Image Credit: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images]
Sprint to pay $1.2 million over six-month 911 outage
The FCC has slapped Sprint with a $1.2 million fine after it discovered that the network failed to properly handle 911 calls from people with hearing difficulties. The company was found to be neglecting the Captioned Telephone Service, which effectively provides closed-captions for emergency calls. Unfortunately, Sprint, along with the firms that provide the technology, let the system fall over for nearly six months. Anyone trying to make a 911 call between March and September in 2014 using the offering would have been blocked from getting through. Even worse, however, is that Sprint still collected its FCC subsidy that's handed out to maintain the service and prevent it from being a financial burden on the carriers.
Comcast fined $33 million for publishing unlisted numbers
Comcast will pay $33.4 million in restitution after California found that the firm had broadcast the personal details of customers who paid for unlisted service. The issue centers around 75,000 users whose names, numbers and addresses were available in the company's online directory. Rubbing more salt into the wound, this data was also made available in several rural telephone books and, critically, via nationwide directory assistance. If you're asking us, publishing the names, addresses and phone numbers of people online, in print and on the internal directory seems like it's stretching the definition of "unlisted."
AT&T rejects $100 million fine, claims it followed the rules
AT&T refuses to pay the FCC the $100 million fine it got slapped with, claiming that it didn't keep data throttling a secret from its subscribers at all. Ma Bell was given with such a hefty penalty, because the agency determined that it slowed down subscribers' "unlimited" internet connections after they've used a particular amount of data without letting them know. The company is now denying that: in its filing to dismiss the $100 million fine, AT&T wrote that it posted a disclosure about throttling data speeds online and even texted a notification to unlimited data customers.
T-Mobile to pay $17.5 million over last year's 911 outage
To settle a Federal Communications Commission investigation into 911 outages, T-Mobile will pay $17.5 million. The FCC investigation revealed that two separate outages occurred on the carrier's network last year, lasting around three hours total. While the incidents were separate but related, they prohibited customers from reaching emergency personnel. The outages happened last August and affected T-Mobile customers nationwide, which the FCC says would've kept around 50 million people from calling 911 with their mobile phones during that time. After the carrier also failed to provide timely notification about the outage (according to FCC guidelines), it promised to overhaul procedures to avoid a similar incident in the future as part of the settlement. "The Commission has no higher priority than ensuring the reliability and resilience of our nation's communications networks so that consumers can reach public safety in their time of need," explained FCC chairman Tom Wheeler. "Communications providers that do not take necessary steps to ensure that Americans can call 911 will be held to account." [Image credit: Photo by Steve Sands/WireImage]
EE fined £1 million for not properly dealing with complaints
As part of its job as the communications industry regulator, Ofcom routinely checks to see if UK mobile carriers are doing a good job of looking after their customers. This includes how they log complaints and what they do once they've received them. After almost three years of investigation, the watchdog announced today that Britain's (current) largest operator, EE, hasn't properly handled customer complaints and has issued it with a £1 million fine.
PayPal will refund $15 million to customers if the CFPB has its way
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau alleges that PayPal engaged in unfair, abusive and deceptive practices in the marketing and management of its PayPal Credit service, formerly known as Bill Me Later. To rectify the (many) outlined abuses, the CFPB filed a complaint and proposed consent order that directs PayPal to refund $15 million to affected consumers, plus pay a $10 million fine to the CFPB's Civil Penalty Fund. The proposed consent order isn't an official ruling just yet -- a judge with the US District Court for the District of Maryland must approve the order for it to be enforced.
FCC fines AT&T $25 million for data breach affecting 280,000 customers
After employees at its call centers swiped personal info of nearly 280,000 customers, AT&T has to pay $25 million to settle with the FCC. The fine is a result of the carrier's "consumer privacy violations" at call centers in Mexico, Colombia and the Philippines, where employees nabbed names, social security numbers and account info without proper authorization. Stolen data was used to request unlock codes, which were then provided to a third party dealing in stolen and "secondary market" handsets. "As today's action demonstrates, the Commission will exercise its full authority against companies that fail to safeguard the personal information of their customers," said FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler. In addition to the hefty fine, AT&T must notify all affected customers, in addition to providing credit monitoring services for those included in breaches in both Colombia and the Philippines. It must also appoint a senior compliance manager to keep an eye on things and file regular security reports with the FCC. [Image credit: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images]
FCC fines carriers $10 million for storing customer data in the open
The FCC usually frets over issues like fair network access and next-generation technology, but it's now concerned about your privacy, too. The agency has just issued its first fines over data security, slapping phone carriers TerraCom and YourTel with a total of $10 million in penalties for storing their customer info in the clear. FCC officials claim that both of the budget-oriented providers stored addresses, Social Security numbers and other vital data not just online, but in a format that just about anyone could read. Moreover, they didn't even notify all of their 305,000 combined customers after realizing what they'd done wrong -- potentially, thieves could have abused this mistake before victims knew they were at risk.
Ofcom slaps Three with a £250,000 fine for failing to handle customer complaints
While Three is currently the UK's fastest-growing network, it certainly can't rest on its laurels. In fact, it's just been given a sharp wake-up call, after Ofcom, the UK's communications regulator, handed the carrier a £250,000 fine over its inadequate handling of customer grievances. According to the watchdog, Three closed complaints before they were fully resolved and was guilty of not logging complaint calls from customers when it should have done. While it now has to hand over a cool quarter of a million to appease Ofcom (which is then absorbed by the Treasury), Three has apparently sorted out its internal processes and is now compliant with regulations -- good news if you enjoy the carrier's unlimited tariffs but weren't so impressed by its customer service.
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. [Photo credit: Rick Maiman/Bloomberg via Getty Images]
Sprint fined $7.5 million for violating your 'Do Not Call' requests
Sprint's bank account is going to be a bit lighter thanks to the FCC's recent announcement that the telco has failed to comply with customer "do-not-call" requests. The Now Network has to pay a $7.5 million fine (the largest ever) for violating your pleas for its unwanted phone-and-text telemarketing to stop, with acting chief of the enforcement bureau saying the settlement "leaves no question that protecting consumer privacy remains a top priority." What's more, the carrier also has to follow a two-year plan to ensure that it keeps following government requirements to protect said privacy. This follows a 2011 settlement that cost Sprint $400,000. Back then, it said that the do-not-call violations were the result of a server failing to process the consumer requests. This time, Sprint tells CNET that the errors were of the "technical and inadvertent human" variety, and that there's been a significant capital investment to ensure they don't happen again in the future. [Image credit: Jamie Squire/Getty Images]
