So, you comment on stuff you know nothing about. I see...and accusing others of political bias is something you started, faggot.
FCC Deadlock Shields Wireless Companies From Privacy Penalties Partisan divide leaves regulator short of votes to require T-Mobile, AT&T, Verizon to pay fines for sharing customers’ locations T-Mobile is among service providers facing FCC penalties. Photo: Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg News By Drew FitzGerald Dec. 19, 2022 4:30 pm ET 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 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. 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. Newsletter Sign-Up What’s News Catch up on the headlines, understand the news and make better decisions, free in your inbox every day. Subscribe Now 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. Prison-phone company Securus Technologies, for example, allegedly allowed its clients to look up phone users’ whereabouts without a court order or other verified documentation, the commission said. The company later discontinued the service. Wireless carriers at the time defended systems that provided data for fraud detection and roadside assistance, among other services, but said they eventually cut off the data aggregators accused of mishandling the information. T-Mobile said that it would contest the regulators’ findings. It later acquired Sprint, though shareholder SoftBank Group Corp. kept some liability for the potential fines. The penalties remained in limbo until August, when Ms. Rosenworcel moved to enforce them. 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.
Typical Republican cockblock, all in the name of corporate worship at the expense of everyone else...