T-Mobile was fined $60 million by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). This penalty stems from T-Mobile’s failure to meet certain data security obligations following its acquisition of Sprint in 2020. CFIUS, which oversees foreign investments in the United States to ensure they do not compromise national security, had set conditions on the merger to safeguard sensitive data.
T-Mobile breached these conditions by inadequately securing sensitive data and not promptly reporting unauthorized access. U.S. officials confirmed that these security lapses occurred in 2020 and 2021.
A U.S. official highlighted that the hefty fine against T-Mobile illustrates CFIUS’s commitment to strict enforcement and serves as a warning to other companies to comply with their obligations. This penalty is the largest in a recent series of increased fines by the committee.
T-Mobile responded by acknowledging technical issues during its integration with Sprint, which affected data handling for a small number of law enforcement information requests. The company clarified that the data remained within the law enforcement community, was reported in a timely manner, and was quickly addressed. This significant penalty marks a shift in CFIUS's approach to ensuring foreign-owned companies adhere to national security requirements.
