Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Obtains Record $7.5 Million Settlement With Sprint for Alleged Do-Not-Call Violations
Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Earlier this week, the FCC announced that mobile wireless company Sprint will pay $7.5 million to resolve allegations that the company failed to honor consumer requests to be placed on Sprint’s entity-specific Do-Not-Call list.  The settlement represents the largest of its kind between the FCC and a carrier.

Through this settlement agreement, which follows a separate 2011 settlement agreement between the FCC and Sprint pertaining to the same type of issue, Sprint will implement a two-year plan to ensure future compliance with FCC requirements.  The compliance plan must, among other things, result in the designation by Sprint of a senior corporate manager to serve as the company’s compliance officer to implement the settlement terms, an employee training program, the submission of multiple periodic compliance reports, and, of course, the $7.5 million payment.

The Sprint settlement comes on the heels of the FCC's stated plans earlier this month to fine an autodialer company $2.9 million for making illegal robocalls to mobile phones.  Together, these latest actions involving hefty penalties demonstrate that the FCC is continuing to pursue unlawful telemarketing activity.

The FTC has its own telemarketing rules, and the FCC and FTC routinely coordinate their activities in this area.

 

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