Verizon to pay $7.4m for privacy violations

WASHINGTON, USA: US telecommunications company Verizon has agreed to pay a $7.4m fine to settle a probe into its privacy practices, including accessing customer data for marketing purposes, officials have confirmed.

The FCC's Travis LeBlanc has ordered Verizon to pay a fine of $7.4m for using private subscriber data for marketing purposes. Image: Hastings

The Federal Communications Commission said Verizon failed to notify about two million of its landline customers about how their personal data would be accessed and used.

"Verizon also agreed to notify customers of their opt-out rights on every bill for the next three years," the FCC said.

"In today's increasingly connected world, it is critical that every phone company honour its duty to inform customers of their privacy choices and then to respect those choices," said FCC Acting Enforcement Chief Travis LeBlanc.

"It is plainly unacceptable for any phone company to use its customers' personal information for thousands of marketing campaigns without even giving them the choice to opt out," he said.

The FCC said companies like Verizon collect an array of sensitive personal information about their customers, like billing and location data, and are required under US law to protect the privacy of that information.

While Verizon did provide "opt out" notices to some customers, the company failed to do this for about two million subscribers.

Source: AFP via I-Net Bridge