Verizon hit with $7.4 mil fine over privacy failure

Verizon is going to shell out $7.4 million to the FCC as a fine for not informing customers of their opt-out notice regarding the use of personal information for marketing purposes.

This is the largest fine the FCC has garnished for settling an investigation related solely to the privacy of telephone customers' personal information.

Invoices and welcome letters did not include details on how to withdraw from the program. Now, in addition to the fine, Verizon must notify customers of their opt-out rights on every bill for the next three years.

A spodesman for Verizon said: "[O]nce we discovered the issue with the notices we informed the FCC, fixed the problem and implemented a number of measures to ensure it does not recur."

Apparently they stopped mailing out the opt-out notices in 2006, but didn't uncover the problem until the fall of 2012. And they failed to notify the FCC for 126 days—until January 2013. They should have notified the FCC within 5 days.