AT&T Gets Hit With A $100 Million Fine For Slowing Down Your Unlimited Data

The FCC claims AT&T over promised on unlimited plans and under delivered.

The FCC found that when customers used up a certain amount of data watching movies or browsing the Web, AT&T "throttled" their Internet speeds so that they were much slower than normal. Millions of AT&T customers were affected by the practice, according to the FCC.

These allegations are from a plan AT&T used to offer back in 2007-2011. They are still doing the same thing today. The difference is we get a text message telling us we have used the allotted data, and will be slowing down the data speed.

You don't think you'll see any of that $100 million do you?

Here's the kicker

Last year the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) was awarded $80 million for Mobil Cramming:

FTC alleges that AT&T billed its customers for hundreds of millions of dollars in charges originated by other companies, usually in amounts of $9.99 per month, for subscriptions for ringtones and text messages containing love tips, horoscopes, and “fun facts.” In its complaint, the FTC alleges that AT&T kept at least 35 percent of the charges it imposed on its customers.

The money that's received from that case will go back to the consumer.

This $100 million fine with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will go to the US Treasury NOT the consumer.

Basically any money The FTC gets is restitution for the consumer.

Any money the FCC gets back in terms of a fine that they levy goes to the US Treasury.

Now just remember this could hinder the AT&T $48.5 billion Direct TV acquisition. Up to this point it was indicated that the Justice Department and the Federal Communications Commission was unlikely to block it. Now time will tell.

If AT&T consumers bring a class action lawsuit then the FTC may get involved and get some money back to the consumers like they did with Operator of Straight Talk, Net10, Simple Mobile and TelCal America. That was a $40 million settlement back to consumers just last year.