The Federal Trade Commission today
said it "has moved to stop Internet service provider Frontier Communications from lying to consumers and charging them for high-speed Internet speeds it fails to deliver."
Frontier was
sued by the FTC in May 2021, and on Thursday, it agreed to a
settlement with the FTC and district attorneys in Los Angeles County and Riverside County who represented the people of California. Frontier must pay $8.5 million to California "for investigation and litigation costs" and another $250,000 that will be distributed to Frontier customers who were harmed by Frontier's alleged actions.
Frontier must also make changes, such as letting customers cancel service at no charge and "discount[ing] the bills of California customers who have not been notified that they are receiving DSL service that is much slower than the highest advertised speed," the FTC said.
"Frontier lied about its speeds and ripped off customers by charging high-speed prices for slow service," said FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection Director Samuel Levine. "Today's proposed order requires Frontier to back up its high-speed claims. It also arms customers lured in by Frontier's lies with free, easy options for dropping their slow service."
The settlement is pending a judge's approval in US District Court for the Central District of California. The FTC approved the proposed order in a 4-0 vote. Frontier did not admit or deny the lawsuit's allegations.
Saying the FTC's complaint "included baseless allegations and disregarded important facts," Frontier said today that it "settled the lawsuit in good faith to put it behind us so we could focus on our business."
arstechnica.com
