News
This fine is the largest ever issued by Committee on Foreign Investment, and one of only six issued in the last 18 months.
By: Georgia Sweeting, Total Telecom
T-Mobile has been fined $60 million by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), a regulatory committee that scrutinizes foreign investment for national security risks.
The CFIUS fined T-Mobile for failing to prevent unauthorized access to sensitive data, and not reporting the incidents prompt, which violated its national security agreement.
The incidents occurred between 2020 and 2021 during T-Mobile’s integration with Sprint. Technical issues led to the mishandling of information from a small number of law enforcement information requests.
Although the data was mistakenly sent to the wrong law enforcement agency, it remained within the law enforcement community and was quickly addressed. T-Mobile emphasized that there was no data breach or malicious activity.
“The $60 million penalty announcement highlights the committee’s commitment to ramping up CFIUS enforcement by holding companies accountable when they fail to comply with their obligations,” said an unnamed US official speaking to the Wall Street Journal.
The T-Mobile and Sprint merger, valued at $26 billion, was finalized in April 2020. The merger combined the third and fourth largest US wireless carriers. Despite facing legal challenges, the merger was approved, and the Sprint brand was discontinued.
The delay in reporting these incidents to CFIUS was a significant factor in the fine.
T-Mobile says it has since taken steps to improve its data handling and reporting processes.
“We reported this in a timely manner, and the issue was quickly addressed. We are glad to have reached a resolution and look forward to continuing to work cooperatively with the law enforcement community to help keep the country and our customers safe,” a spokesperson for T-Mobile said.
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