Deadlocked FCC Shields Tech Companies From Fines

Cellphone carriers facing roughly $200 million in fines for sharing their customers’ locations are for now shielded from paying by the Federal Communications Commission’s partisan deadlock, according to The Wall Street Journal citing people familiar with the matter.

The U.S. telecom regulator currently has four commissioners—two Democrats and two Republicans—and needs at least three votes to move forward with fines it proposed years ago on the biggest wireless-service providers.

Jessica Rosenworcel

FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, a Democrat, in August circulated four forfeiture orders penalizing AT&T Inc., Sprint, T-Mobile, US Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. for allegedly mishandling access to the real-time whereabouts of their subscribers, the people said. The commission hasn’t yet published the forfeiture orders.

The FCC can’t issue the orders without approval from at least three commissioners. The two Democrats on the commission have voted to approve the fines, while their Republican counterparts have yet to vote, the people said.

The FCC first outlined the penalties for cellphone carriers in early 2020 under then-Chairman Ajit Pai, a Republican. Democratic and Republican commissioners voiced support for the move.

The commission probed the cellphone carriers following public reports that data brokers with access to subscribers’ real-time locations were sharing that information with dozens of third-party companies that allegedly mishandled the data. 

. The FCC leadership has one vacant seat. The Biden administration last year named Gigi Sohn to fill the fifth spot but failed to advance her nomination through a divided Senate. It is unclear how the midterm elections will affect the nomination process. Ms. Sohn served as counselor to former FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler and led Public Knowledge, a public-interest group that advocates for stronger antitrust enforcement.