Verizon location data: Court Rules Against Verizon on Location Data Sales

A federal appeals court just delivered a clear answer to a long-running question: Can a carrier sell precise device-location information without a customer’s say-so? In a decision issued September 10, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld the Federal Communications Commission’s $46.9 million penalty against Verizon and held that device-location information is protected customer data under federal law. In plain English, the court said explicit consent matters—and contractual assurances from downstream data brokers aren’t enough to legalize the practice. Reuters+1

What the court actually decided — Verizon location data

The panel affirmed the FCC’s findings that Verizon allowed real-time device coordinates to be sold through aggregators to dozens of third parties, and that this conduct violated Section 222 of the Communications Act and the FCC’s customer-proprietary-network-information (CPNI) rules. The opinion spells it out: “device-location data is statutorily protected,” the agency reasonably determined liability, and the forfeiture did not require a jury trial. The court also rejected Verizon’s arguments that location pings fell outside CPNI and that its vendor contracts provided sufficient safeguards. Broadband Breakfast

In summarizing the violations, the court pointed to a chain in which location pings moved from Verizon to data aggregators and then further down the line—exactly the kind of system that previously let bounty hunters and bail-bond companies buy location lookups. Those facts, the judges said, supported the FCC’s view that there were multiple, continuing violations of the law. Justia

How we got here: the long arc of Verizon location data oversight

Public scrutiny of carrier location sales exploded after 2018 reporting revealed a resale ecosystem where real-time pings could be purchased within minutes. The FCC opened investigations, and in April 2024 finalized nearly $200 million in fines across the industry—$47 million for Verizon, $57 million for AT&T, $80 million for T-Mobile, and $12 million for Sprint—finding that carriers kept selling access even after warnings. The companies appealed. The Second Circuit’s ruling is the latest in those appeals and follows an August 2025 D.C. Circuit decision that likewise rejected core arguments from T-Mobile. Together, the decisions tighten the legal perimeter around carrier-monetized location feeds. AP News+1

Why this matters beyond one carrier — Verizon location data

The holding strengthens a straightforward privacy baseline: if a telecom wants to share or sell precise device coordinates, it needs the customer’s informed consent. That standard doesn’t just bind Verizon; it signals to the whole sector that “consent by contract” buried in broker paperwork will not cure upstream legal violations. It also clarifies that the FCC can use its forfeiture process to impose penalties for privacy breaches tied to Verizon location data and similar programs, a point the court made explicitly in rejecting Seventh Amendment arguments about jury trials for fines. Broadband Breakfast

What counts as consent now?

• Opt-in, not just opt-out. The opinion treats explicit customer permission as the floor for sharing precise coordinates.

• Specificity. Broad terms of service are unlikely to suffice; disclosures must describe what data is shared, with whom, and for what purpose.

• Traceability. Carriers bear responsibility for the full chain, not just their first-hop vendor. Paper promises from brokers did not save Verizon. Broadband Breakfast

Implications for consumers — Verizon location data

For everyday users, this ruling means your device’s where-you-are and where-you-were should not be sold or licensed without your say-so. It reinforces that real-time coordinates—capable of revealing home addresses, medical visits, religious attendance, and personal associations—carry heightened sensitivity. Consumer advocates who pushed for stronger enforcement see the decision as a watershed that finally aligns legal outcomes with common-sense expectations of privacy around Verizon location data. Reuters

What you can do now:

• Audit app permissions. Even with carrier sales curtailed, apps may request GPS access; pare these down to “While Using” or “Never.”

• Shut off ad ID sharing. Reset or limit your device’s advertising identifier to reduce cross-app profiling.

• Use platform-level controls. iOS/Android safety dashboards can alert you to background location access.

Implications for carriers and data brokers — Verizon location data

The immediate outcome is legal clarity; the practical outcome is compliance work. Carriers that maintained or revived location-licensing programs will need to:

1. Kill reseller chains that permit sub-licensing or bulk query access without carrier-verified consent.

2. Stand up auditable consent flows for any remaining location services—think cryptographic tokens or carrier-hosted permissions that follow the data downstream.

3. Adopt continuous vendor monitoring with kill-switches when misuse is detected, and document those controls for regulators.

4. Segregate emergency use cases (e.g., 911 location, Amber Alerts) from any commercial program, preventing function creep.

Because the FCC’s 2024 fines spanned all major carriers—and courts are now siding with the agency—expect industry-wide standardization that treats Verizon location data and comparable datasets as high-risk assets requiring explicit opt-in. AP News+1

Could the Supreme Court step in?

It’s possible. Appeals in different circuits raise the chance of further petitions for review. If carriers assert conflicting readings of Section 222 or CPNI scope, the Supreme Court could be asked to resolve them. For now, however, the trend line is clear: appellate courts are affirming the FCC’s authority and the protected status of device-level coordinates implicated in Verizon location data enforcement. Reuters

Policy and enforcement horizon — Verizon location data

Even with strong rulings, the U.S. still lacks a comprehensive federal privacy statute governing all sectors. That leaves a patchwork of FCC telecom rules, FTC unfair-practices actions, and state privacy laws. Expect:

• More FCC orders cementing compliance benchmarks for carrier-adjacent data flows (roaming, telematics, private 5G).

• State AG activity using state privacy laws to target data brokers reselling carrier-sourced location trails.

• Contract rewrites between carriers and “value-added” providers (roadside assistance, fraud prevention) to keep legitimate uses while hard-walling marketing pipelines tied to Verizon location data. AP News

Frequently asked questions — Verizon location data

What is CPNI and why does it cover location?

CPNI (customer proprietary network information) includes data carriers obtain in providing service—historically call records, and now, according to the court, device-location data that rides the network. Because it can reveal sensitive patterns, using or sharing it requires customer approval. Broadband Breakfast

Does this stop all location sharing?

No. Emergency services, lawful-process requests, fraud prevention, and clearly consented services can still use location. The ruling targets sales or disclosures lacking provable, informed consent—exactly the sort of resales that put Verizon location data in regulators’ crosshairs. Reuters

What about anonymized or aggregated data?

The opinion focused on real-time, device-level pings tied to subscribers. Aggregated statistics pose different legal questions, but any deanonymization risk or reidentification path can trigger scrutiny.

Will customers get refunds?

The ruling affirmed fines paid to the government, not consumer restitution. Private lawsuits or state actions could pursue consumer remedies, but that’s separate from the FCC forfeiture.

Bottom line

The Second Circuit has made it explicit: selling or sharing precise device coordinates without informed, verifiable opt-in violates federal telecom privacy rules. That conclusion narrows the space for carrier-broker ecosystems and elevates consent standards across the sector. For Verizon, the case centers on Verizon location data; for the industry, it’s a template for compliance—and a warning that the era of “consent by contract” through intermediaries is over. Reuters+1

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Further Reading

• Reuters — U.S. court upholds $46.9M FCC fine over Verizon location data: https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/us-court-upholds-verizon-469-million-fine-over-location-data-2025-09-10/ Reuters

• Second Circuit opinion (PDF): https://broadbandbreakfast.com/content/files/2025/09/vz_fine_decision.pdf Broadband Breakfast

• Justia case page with opinion excerpts: https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/ca2/24-1733/24-1733-2025-09-10.html Justia

• Ars Technica — Court rejects Verizon claim that selling location data without consent is legal: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/09/court-rejects-verizon-claim-that-selling-location-data-without-consent-is-legal/ Ars Technica

• AP News — FCC fines carriers nearly $200M for selling user locations without consent (background): https://apnews.com/article/16acca725c7b4537c1c3c459ff449736 AP News

• Ars Technica — D.C. Circuit rejects T-Mobile’s similar appeal (context): https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/08/t-mobile-claimed-selling-location-data-without-consent-is-legal-judges-disagree/

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