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{{StubNotice}}
{{StubNotice}}
{{CompanyCargo
{{CompanyCargo
| Description  = AT&T is a major telecommunications holding company
| Founded      = 1885
| Founded      = 2005-11-18
| Industry      = Telecommunications
| Industry      = Telecommunications
| Logo          = AT&T.png
| Logo          = AT&T.png
Line 9: Line 7:
| Type          = Public
| Type          = Public
| Website      = https://att.com/
| Website      = https://att.com/
| Description  = Major telecommunication company which owns several smaller telecommunication companies. Has sold user data and lied about involvement in data breeches
}}
}}


{{InfoboxCompany
'''{{Wplink|AT&T|AT&T, Inc.}}''' is a major telecommunications holding company headquartered in Dallas, Texas. AT&T owns several smaller telecommunications companies, including Cricket Wireless and DIRECTV.<ref>{{Cite web |author= |title=PRINCIPAL SUBSIDIARIES OF AT&T INC. |url=https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/732717/000073271718000009/ex21.htm |website=U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission |date=20 Feb 2018 |access-date=30 Mar 2026 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251004102846/https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/732717/000073271718000009/ex21.htm |archive-date=4 Oct 2025}}</ref>
| Name = AT&T
| Type = Public
| Founded = 1885
| Industry = Telecommunications
| Official Website = https://att.com/
| Logo = AT&T.png
}}


[[wikipedia:AT&T|'''AT&T, Inc.''']] is a major telecommunications holding company headquartered in Dallas, Texas. AT&T owns several smaller telecommunications companies, including Cricket Wireless and DIRECTV. <ref>https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/732717/000073271718000009/ex21.htm</ref>
==Consumer impact summary==
{{Ph-C-CIS}}
*'''Privacy:''' In 2017, the Electronic Frontier Foundation awarded AT&T with a 1 out of 5 stars privacy rating, the same as AT&T's largest competitors, [[Verizon]] and [[T-Mobile]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Reitman |first=Rainey |title=Who Has Your Back? Government Data Requests 2017 |url=https://www.eff.org/who-has-your-back-2017 |website=Electronic Frontier Foundation |date=10 Jul 2017 |access-date=30 Mar 2026 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180915003333/https://www.eff.org/who-has-your-back-2017 |archive-date=15 Sep 2018}}</ref>


In 2017, the Electronic Frontier Foundation awarded AT&T with a 1 out of 5 stars privacy rating, the same as AT&T's largest competitors, Verizon and T-Mobile.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20180915003333/https://www.eff.org/who-has-your-back-2017</ref>
==Incidents==
This is a list of all consumer-protection incidents this company is involved in. Any incidents not mentioned here can be found in the [[:Category:{{FULLPAGENAME}}|{{PAGENAME}} category]].


==Consumer impact summary==
===Massive data breach (March 2024)===
{{Placeholder box|Overview of concerns that arise from the company's conduct regarding (if applicable):
In March 2024, tens of millions of records allegedly breached from AT&T were posted to a popular hacking forum.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hunt |first=Troy |title=Inside the Massive Alleged AT&T Data Breach |url=https://www.troyhunt.com/inside-the-massive-alleged-att-data-breach/ |website=TroyHunt.com |date=19 Mar 2024 |access-date=30 Mar 2026 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251211134030/https://www.troyhunt.com/inside-the-massive-alleged-att-data-breach/ |archive-date=11 Dec 2025}}</ref> Dating back to August 2021, the data was originally posted for sale before later being freely released. At the time, AT&T maintained that there had not been a breach of their systems and that the data originated from elsewhere. Twelve days later, AT&T acknowledged that data fields specific to them were in the breach and that it was not yet known whether the breach occurred at their end or that of a vendor.<ref>{{Cite web |author= |title=AT&T Addresses Recent Data Set Released on the Dark Web |url=https://about.att.com/story/2024/addressing-data-set-released-on-dark-web.html |website=AT&T |date=30 Mar 2024 |access-date=30 Mar 2024 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251221112957/https://about.att.com/story/2024/addressing-data-set-released-on-dark-web.html |archive-date=21 Dec 2025}}</ref> AT&T also proceeded to reset customer account pass-codes,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Whittaker |first=Zack |title=AT&T resets account passcodes after millions of customer records leak online |url=https://techcrunch.com/2024/03/30/att-reset-account-passcodes-customer-data/ |website=TechCrunch |date=30 Mar 2024 |access-date=30 Mar 2026 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251223093948/https://techcrunch.com/2024/03/30/att-reset-account-passcodes-customer-data/ |archive-date=23 Dec 2025}}</ref> an indicator that there was sufficient belief pass-codes had been compromised. The incident exposed names, e-mail and physical addresses, dates of birth, phone numbers and US Social Security numbers.
* User Freedom
* User Privacy
* Business Model
* Market Control}}


==Incidents==
===Selling consumer data (''2024'')===
The [[FCC]] found that all major telecommunications companies were illegally selling customers' location data. The U.S. government agency fined AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon nearly $200 million; AT&T's share amounted to 0.22% of their net annual income.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rossmann |first=Louis |title=No Escape: EVERY US Carrier Sold Your Location Data with 0.4% Penalties from the FCC! |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdZt7ox1DDs |website=[[YouTube]] |date=30 Apr 2024 |access-date=30 Mar 2026 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://preservetube.com/watch?v=mdZt7ox1DDs |archive-date=19 Nov 2025}}</ref>


===Selling consumer data (2024)===
===Inability to cancel setup when the option is advertised (''2025—'')===
FCC found that all major telecommunications companies were illegally selling customer's location data. IFCC fined AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon nearly $200 million, AT&T's share amounted to 0.22% of their net annual income.<ref group="Video References">https://youtube.com/watch?v=mdZt7ox1DDs</ref>
[[File:AT&T Cancel Order page.png|thumb|The button to cancel is greyed out, with a label that suggests the button is greyed out because the user has not input an answer as to why they are cancelling. There is no input field to put such answer.]]


===Massive data breach (March 2024)===
The user is able to schedule service setup online though the portal. The option to cancel this scheduled setup is advertised to the user. The user is unable to cancel the plan due to the "Request cancellation" button being greyed out and inactive.
In March 2024, tens of millions of records allegedly breached from AT&T were posted to a popular hacking forum.<ref>https://www.troyhunt.com/inside-the-massive-alleged-att-data-breach</ref> Dating back to August 2021, the data was originally posted for sale before later being freely released. At the time, AT&T maintained that there had not been a breach of their systems and that the data originated from elsewhere. Twelve days later, AT&T acknowledged that data fields specific to them were in the breach and that it was not yet known whether the breach occurred at their end or that of a vendor.<ref>https://about.att.com/story/2024/addressing-data-set-released-on-dark-web.html</ref> AT&T also proceeded to reset customer account passcodes,<ref>https://techcrunch.com/2024/03/30/att-reset-account-passcodes-customer-data/</ref> an indicator that there was sufficient belief passcodes had been compromised. The incident exposed names, email and physical addresses, dates of birth, phone numbers and US Social Security numbers.


==Products==
==Products==
{{Placeholder box|This is a list of the company's product lines '''with articles on this wiki'''.
{{Ph-C-P}}
* [[Example product line one]] (release date): Short summary of the product's incidents.
* [[Example product line two]] (release date):}}


==See also==
==See also==
{{Placeholder box|Link to relevant theme articles or companies with similar incidents.}}
* [[Data brokers]]
* [[T-Mobile]]


==References:==
==References==
<references />
{{Reflist}}


===Video references:===
[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
<references group="Video References" />
[[Category:Telecommunications companies]]
[[Category:AT&T]]

Latest revision as of 23:20, 30 March 2026

❗Article Status Notice: This Article is a stub

This article is underdeveloped, and needs additional work to meet the wiki's Content Guidelines and be in line with our Mission Statement for comprehensive coverage of consumer protection issues. Learn more ▼

AT&T
Basic information
Founded 1885
Legal Structure Public
Industry Telecommunications
Also known as
Official website https://att.com/

AT&T, Inc. is a major telecommunications holding company headquartered in Dallas, Texas. AT&T owns several smaller telecommunications companies, including Cricket Wireless and DIRECTV.[1]

Consumer impact summary

[edit | edit source]

Overview of concerns that arise from the conduct towards users of the product (if applicable):

  • User Freedom
  • User Privacy
  • Business Model
  • Market Control

Add your text below this box. Once this section is complete, delete this box by clicking on it and pressing backspace.


  • Privacy: In 2017, the Electronic Frontier Foundation awarded AT&T with a 1 out of 5 stars privacy rating, the same as AT&T's largest competitors, Verizon and T-Mobile.[2]

Incidents

[edit | edit source]

This is a list of all consumer-protection incidents this company is involved in. Any incidents not mentioned here can be found in the AT&T category.

Massive data breach (March 2024)

[edit | edit source]

In March 2024, tens of millions of records allegedly breached from AT&T were posted to a popular hacking forum.[3] Dating back to August 2021, the data was originally posted for sale before later being freely released. At the time, AT&T maintained that there had not been a breach of their systems and that the data originated from elsewhere. Twelve days later, AT&T acknowledged that data fields specific to them were in the breach and that it was not yet known whether the breach occurred at their end or that of a vendor.[4] AT&T also proceeded to reset customer account pass-codes,[5] an indicator that there was sufficient belief pass-codes had been compromised. The incident exposed names, e-mail and physical addresses, dates of birth, phone numbers and US Social Security numbers.

Selling consumer data (2024)

[edit | edit source]

The FCC found that all major telecommunications companies were illegally selling customers' location data. The U.S. government agency fined AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon nearly $200 million; AT&T's share amounted to 0.22% of their net annual income.[6]

Inability to cancel setup when the option is advertised (2025—)

[edit | edit source]
The button to cancel is greyed out, with a label that suggests the button is greyed out because the user has not input an answer as to why they are cancelling. There is no input field to put such answer.

The user is able to schedule service setup online though the portal. The option to cancel this scheduled setup is advertised to the user. The user is unable to cancel the plan due to the "Request cancellation" button being greyed out and inactive.

Products

[edit | edit source]

This is a list of the company's product lines with articles on this wiki.

Add your text below this box. Once this section is complete, delete this box by clicking on it and pressing backspace.


See also

[edit | edit source]

References

[edit | edit source]
  1. ↑ "PRINCIPAL SUBSIDIARIES OF AT&T INC". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. 20 Feb 2018. Archived from the original on 4 Oct 2025. Retrieved 30 Mar 2026.
  2. ↑ Reitman, Rainey (10 Jul 2017). "Who Has Your Back? Government Data Requests 2017". Electronic Frontier Foundation. Archived from the original on 15 Sep 2018. Retrieved 30 Mar 2026.
  3. ↑ Hunt, Troy (19 Mar 2024). "Inside the Massive Alleged AT&T Data Breach". TroyHunt.com. Archived from the original on 11 Dec 2025. Retrieved 30 Mar 2026.
  4. ↑ "AT&T Addresses Recent Data Set Released on the Dark Web". AT&T. 30 Mar 2024. Archived from the original on 21 Dec 2025. Retrieved 30 Mar 2024.
  5. ↑ Whittaker, Zack (30 Mar 2024). "AT&T resets account passcodes after millions of customer records leak online". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on 23 Dec 2025. Retrieved 30 Mar 2026.
  6. ↑ Rossmann, Louis (30 Apr 2024). "No Escape: EVERY US Carrier Sold Your Location Data with 0.4% Penalties from the FCC!". YouTube. Archived from the original on 19 Nov 2025. Retrieved 30 Mar 2026.
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