AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint on Tuesday joined Verizon in pledging to end the sales of device location data to third-party brokers.
Verizon indicated it would end its relationships with brokers LocationSmart and Zumigo in response to an inquiry from Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore. Verizon said in a letter to the senator that the practice resulted in some 75 companies acquiring data about its customers.
Wyden praised Verizon’s response and said the replies from its rivals suggested they “seem content to continue to sell their customers’ private information to these shady middle men, Americans’ privacy be damned.”
But within hours, each of the remaining three major carriers informed the Associated Press they planned to take similar steps.
“Chalk one up for oversight and accountability getting results for consumers,” Wyden wrote on Twitter.
Filed Under: Carriers
