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{{CompanyCargo
{{CompanyCargo
| Founded      = 1885
| Founded      = 1885
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| Description  = Major telecommunication company which owns several smaller telecommunication companies. Has sold user data and lied about involvement in data breeches
| Description  = Major telecommunication company which owns several smaller telecommunication companies. Has sold user data and lied about involvement in data breeches
}}
}}
[[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>{{Cite web |title=PRINCIPAL SUBSIDIARIES OF AT&T INC. |url=https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/732717/000073271718000009/ex21.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251004102846/https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/732717/000073271718000009/ex21.htm |archive-date=2025-10-04 |website=U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission}}</ref>
 
'''{{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>


==Consumer impact summary==
==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>


*'''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 |date=2017-07-10 |title=Who Has Your Back? Government Data Requests 2017 |url=https://www.eff.org/who-has-your-back-2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180915003333/https://www.eff.org/who-has-your-back-2017 |archive-date=2018-09-15 |website=Electronic Frontier Foundation}}</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]].


==Incidents==
===Massive data breach (March 2024)===
[[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.]]
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.


===Inability to cancel setup when the option is advertised (8/16/2025)===
===Selling consumer data (''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.  
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. FCC 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">{{Cite web |last=Rossman |first=Louis |date=2024-04-30 |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 |url-status=live |website=YouTube |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251119080645/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdZt7ox1DDs |archive-date=19 Nov 2025}}</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>{{Cite web |last=Hunt |first=Troy |date=2024-03-19 |title=Inside the Massive Alleged AT&T Data Breach |url=https://www.troyhunt.com/inside-the-massive-alleged-att-data-breach/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251211134030/https://www.troyhunt.com/inside-the-massive-alleged-att-data-breach/ |archive-date=2025-12-11 |website=TroyHunt.com}}</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 |date=2024-03-30 |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 |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=2025-12-21 |website=AT&T}}</ref> AT&T also proceeded to reset customer account pass-codes,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Whittaker |first=Zack |date=2024-03-30 |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/ |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=2025-12-23 |website=Tech Crunch}}</ref> an indicator that there was sufficient belief pass-codes 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==
* [[Data brokers]]
* [[Data brokers]]
* [[T-Mobile]]<br />
* [[T-Mobile]]


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


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