AT&T has been granted court approval to pay a settlement of $177 million to compensate victims of multiple data breaches that affected millions of its customers. This decision was finalized by U.S. District Judge Ada Brown in Dallas, who characterized the settlement as fair and reasonable. The data breaches, which came to light last year, raised significant concerns regarding the personal information of AT&T subscribers.
As a result, a class action lawsuit was initiated against the company. The two breaches occurred in May and July 2022, involving the exposure of personal data tied to approximately 7.6 million current account holders and 65.4 million former customers. Victims who can demonstrate losses directly linked to these breaches may receive payments that range from $2,500 to $5,000.
In addition, smaller compensation amounts will be distributed to those whose personal information was compromised. One notable incident involved unauthorized access to call logs from a company workspace on a cloud platform, which included details of customer calls and texts over a six-month period. AT&T revealed that a vendor, whose contract expired years prior, was implicated in a breach that exposed the data of 8.9 million customers, despite the information being expected to have been deleted.
Although AT&T has opted to settle the lawsuits, the company maintains that it is not at fault and claims that it is taking this action to avoid the costs and uncertainties associated with prolonged litigation. The carrier anticipates that final approval of the settlement will be granted by late 2025, with payments to victims expected to commence in early 2026. Additionally, AT&T has faced scrutiny from the FCC and paid a $13 million fine related to the breaches.