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AT&T: We did nothing wrong in promising unlimited data that wasn't. We're just giving the FTC $60m for fun

Toothless American consumer watchdog, the Federal Trade Commission, today agreed to let AT&T settle a five-year battle over phony "unlimited data" promises for just $60m. That's $40m less than expected, and less than one day of annual profit for the telco giant.

The agreement [PDF] lets AT&T claim it did nothing wrong; the settlement, as ever, comes with no admittance of guilt. The FTC's official announcement repeatedly stresses the fact that AT&T throttled millions of customers' mobile broadband access despite selling them "unlimited data" plans, are mere "allegations."

The settlement was agreed to by four of the five FTC commissioners, with Rebecca Kelly Slaughter recusing herself for some unknown reason. Another commissioner, Rohit Chopra, made it clear that he was not happy about the deal, despite agreeing to it.

In a statement [PDF], Chopra called AT&T's actions a "scam," "scandal," and "massive fraud," and noted he "would have liked to see AT&T pay more," but recognized "the risks and resources associated with litigation." He concluded: "The bottom line is that AT&T fleeced its customers to enrich its executives and its investors."

The original FTC complaint was filed in 2014 after it received numerous gripes from AT&T customers that their phones' mobile internet download speeds had slowed to a crawl despite being on "unlimited" data plans. It turned out that after people had fetched 2 to 3GB of information each month, AT&T simply throttled their accounts, making web browsing difficult and video streaming near-impossible.

Also at Forbes

Original Submission