AT&T To Pay $25 Million To Settle FCC's Consumer Privacy Investigation

The Federal Communications Commission said on Wednesday that AT&T Inc. has agreed to pay $25 million to settle an investigation into consumer privacy violations, marking the FCC's largest privacy and data security enforcement action to date. The alleged violations, which involved the disclosure of almost 280,000 U.S. customers' names, social security numbers and access to account-related data, occurred at AT&T's call centers in Mexico, Colombia and the Philippines. "Consumers trust that their phone company will zealously guard access to sensitive personal information in customer records," said Travis LeBlanc, chief of the FCC's enforcement bureau. AT&T's stock slipped 0.2% in afternoon trade. It has lost 2.9% year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 1%.