Verizon To Pay $7.4 Million To Settle Consumer Privacy Investigation

The Federal Communications Commission’s Enforcement Bureau has reached a $7.4 million settlement with Verizon to resolve an investigation into the company’s use of personal consumer information for marketing purposes.

The Enforcement Bureau’s investigation uncovered that Verizon failed to notify approximately two million new customers, on their first invoices or in welcome letters, of their privacy rights, including how to opt out from having their personal information used in marketing campaigns, before the company accessed their personal information to market services to them. In addition to the $7.4 million payment, Verizon has agreed to notify customers of their opt-out rights on every bill for the next three years. FCC will put systems in place to monitor and test its billing systems and opt-out notice process to ensure that customers are receiving proper notices of their privacy rights. Any problems detected that are more than an anomaly must be reported to the FCC within five business days, and any noncompliance must be reported as well.