Privacy and consumer protection enforcement actions against telecommunications companies.
20
Total Actions
$26.0M
Total Fines
The Connecticut Attorney General and Consumer Counsel announced a settlement with Charter Communications regarding its proposed acquisition of Cox Communications. The settlement includes consumer protections such as billing transparency, service reliability improvements, a $3 million digital access investment, and other commitments. It is pending approval by the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority.
The Connecticut Attorney General and Consumer Counsel secured a settlement requiring Charter Communications to adhere to consumer protection commitments as it acquires Cox Communications. The agreement, pending PURA approval, includes pricing transparency, service reliability improvements, a $3 million digital access investment, and compliance with the Connecticut Data Privacy Act. It also maintains a Connecticut workforce and office, and prevents cost pass-through to customers.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Phase 2 of Operation Robocall Roundup, a multistate investigation targeting four major voice service providers—Inteliquent, Bandwidth, Peerless, and Lumen—for routing suspected illegal robocalls. The Anti-Robocall Multistate Litigation Task Force sent warning letters demanding they stop transmitting such calls, following Phase 1 which already led to some providers being removed from the FCC's database. The AG emphasized that these companies have a heightened responsibility to block call traffic from known bad actors.
Attorney General William Tong announced Phase 2 of Operation Robocall Roundup, investigating four major voice providers—Inteliquent, Bandwidth, Lumen, and Peerless—for transmitting suspected illegal robocalls. The Anti-Robocall Multistate Litigation Task Force directed these companies to stop such transmissions. Phase 1 already removed 13 companies from the FCC's Robocall Mitigation Database and stopped 19 from appearing in traceback results.
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong filed an expanded complaint against Altice/Optimum Online for deceptive advertising and hidden 'Network Enhancement' fees that collected at least $39.1 million from consumers. The company allegedly misled customers with 'price for life' deals while burying fees in fine print and targeting Spanish speakers with English-only disclosures. The complaint seeks penalties and disgorgement under the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act.
The Connecticut Attorney General, leading a multistate task force of 51 attorneys general, issued warning letters to nine phone providers for allegedly routing unlawful robocalls. The providers have received numerous traceback notices for various scam calls, including government impersonations and financial fraud. The task force demands immediate cessation of illegal robocall facilitation or face legal action.
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong filed a lawsuit against Altice for charging unlawful 'Network Enhancement Fees' and failing to adequately disclose internet speed limits. The complaint seeks to stop the fees, recover millions for consumers, and address deceptive marketing practices including language barriers.
The FTC proposed a consent order against Global Tel*Link Corp. for failing to secure sensitive user data, leading to a breach affecting nearly 650,000 consumers, and for delaying notification for about nine months. The order requires the company to implement a comprehensive security program, notify affected users with credit monitoring, and report future breaches promptly.
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong filed a lawsuit against Michael D. Lansky, LLC (Avid Telecom) for allegedly initiating billions of illegal robocalls, including to numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry. The company is accused of violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and Telemarketing Sales Rule. This action is part of a multistate task force with nearly every state attorney general.
New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin joined a multistate lawsuit against Avid Telecom for allegedly initiating and facilitating billions of illegal robocalls, including to numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry, in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and Telemarketing Sales Rule. The company is accused of transmitting scam calls and ignoring warnings from the Industry Traceback Group.
Attorney General William Tong and bipartisan legislators announced a bill to modernize Connecticut's anti-robocall laws, which haven't been updated since 2015. The bill would expand coverage to text messages, ban gateway VoIP providers, enforce calls to Connecticut area codes, set calling hour restrictions, strengthen telemarketer disclosures, and clarify Do Not Call List protections.
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong announced an investigation into Altice Optimum based on nearly 500 consumer complaints regarding slow internet speeds, hidden fees, and poor customer service. The investigation, launched under the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act, seeks records dating back to January 2017 to determine potential violations. This follows a prior $60 million settlement with Frontier Communications for similar consumer protection issues.
The Connecticut Attorney General, on behalf of the national Anti-Robocall Litigation Task Force, filed petitions in Indiana state court to compel Avid Telecom and One Eye LLC to comply with civil investigative demands regarding their alleged involvement in routing illegal robocalls. The task force alleges these providers accepted and routed fraudulent calls, including government imposter scams, and seeks court orders for them to produce documents and call data records.
Attorney General William Tong of Connecticut led a coalition of 51 attorneys general to urge the FCC to expand anti-robocall protections by requiring all telephone providers to implement STIR/SHAKEN caller ID authentication and other measures to prevent illegal and fraudulent robocalls.
Connecticut Attorney General settled with Frontier Communications over deceptive marketing, hidden fees, and poor service. The $60 million settlement requires Frontier to invest $42.5 million in fiber upgrades for 40,000 households in distressed areas, end a $6.99 monthly surcharge, pay $1 million to the state, and provide $200,000 in consumer refunds. Frontier must also improve customer service, billing disclosures, and service quality guarantees over six years.
$1.0M
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong announced the formation of a nationwide Anti-Robocall Litigation Task Force with 50 states to investigate and take legal action against gateway providers responsible for foreign robocall traffic. The task force issued 20 civil investigative demands to these providers as its first action to reduce illegal robocalls and scams.
In March 2022, Connecticut Attorney General William Tong announced that Connecticut is co-leading a multistate investigation into T-Mobile's 2021 data breach, which affected over 53 million individuals. The breach compromised sensitive data including names, dates of birth, Social Security Numbers, and driver's license information. Tong urged affected consumers to take protective steps such as credit monitoring and freezes.
The FTC released a staff report based on Section 6(b) orders to six major ISPs, finding they collect extensive personal data, including internet traffic and location data, and share it with third parties. The ISPs often obscure data use disclosures in fine print and make it difficult for consumers to opt out, while combining data to profile sensitive characteristics. The report highlights the need for stricter privacy restrictions.
Attorney General William Tong released an update on the implementation of the Anti-Robocall Principles signed in 2019. Telecom companies have identified over 52 billion spam calls and blocked 32.5 billion, but robocalls continue to cause significant financial losses. Enforcement actions have increased with thousands of tracebacks and investigations.
Comcast disclosed personal information of approximately 75,000 customers who had paid for unlisted VOIP phone service. The settlement includes a $25 million penalty and $8 million in restitution, along with a permanent injunction requiring improved privacy practices and customer disclosures.
$25.0M