AT&T
Flagged · AvoidOne of the largest telecom companies in the US, having a long history of consumer overcharges and mass government surveillance cooperation.
Last updated September 4, 2026
Reasons to avoid
Issues span:LaborPrivacyConsumerAntitrust
- More than 17,000 AT&T workers across nine southeastern states went on strike in August 2024, accusing the company of failing to bargain in good faith. The Communications Workers of America said AT&T sent negotiators without authority to make decisions and filed an unfair labor practice complaint with the National Labor Relations Board.
- AT&T disclosed in March 2024 that data on 73 million current and former customers, including Social Security numbers, account passcodes, and dates of birth, had been circulating on the dark web since at least 2019. The company had not confirmed reports of a similar breach when they first surfaced in 2021, only acknowledging the exposure once the same data resurfaced three years later.
- The FTC sued AT&T for secretly throttling customers on "unlimited" data plans, slowing speeds by up to 90% without adequate disclosure. AT&T settled for $60 million in 2019, one of the largest telecom consumer protection settlements in FTC history.
- AT&T secretly gave the NSA access to a dedicated surveillance room, known as Room 641A, inside its San Francisco facility, where equipment copied internet traffic and fed it directly to the government. A 2018 investigation found the program had expanded to at least eight AT&T buildings across the U.S., handling both domestic and international traffic.
- AT&T has spent heavily lobbying state legislatures and attorneys general to block cities from building their own municipal broadband networks, arguing that public networks unfairly compete with private carriers. Roughly 20 states have passed laws restricting municipal broadband as a result, often leaving residents in underserved areas without a faster alternative.
- AT&T was ordered to pay $80 million to the FTC as part of a $105 million multi-agency settlement for billing customers for unauthorized third-party charges, a practice called "cramming," and deliberately hiding those charges in bill summaries.
Ethical alternatives
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US Mobile
Highly affordable flexible plans on multiple networks. No contracts, build-your-own plan options.
Visit →Common Questions
- Is AT&T ethical?
- AT&T secretly gave the NSA access to a dedicated surveillance room inside its San Francisco facility, copying internet traffic and feeding it to the government, a program later found to span at least eight AT&T buildings nationwide. In 2024, data on 73 million customers including Social Security numbers was found circulating on the dark web, information AT&T had not confirmed was compromised when a similar breach was first reported in 2021. The FTC also settled a $60 million case against AT&T for throttling unlimited data plans by up to 90 percent.
- Why should I avoid AT&T?
- AT&T has paid $140 million combined across two FTC settlements, for throttling unlimited data plans and for billing customers for unauthorized third-party charges, and has spent years lobbying against laws that would let cities build their own broadband networks. Over 17,000 workers went on strike in 2024 after the company was accused of bargaining in bad faith over wages and healthcare benefits.
- What are the best ethical alternatives to AT&T?
- US Mobile lets you build your own plan across multiple networks at very low cost with no contracts. No-contract MVNOs consistently earn higher customer satisfaction scores than the major carriers and typically save customers $30 to $70 per month.