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Questions and Answers
What is the practice of 'cramming' in relation to cell phone bills?
Cramming refers to the unauthorized addition of recurring third-party charges to consumers’ cell phone bills for premium subscriptions.
Which company was fined $105 million by the FCC for cramming?
The FCC fined T-Mobile USA for billing customers for third-party texting services without their consent.
True
What is throttling in the context of mobile data plans?
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The FCC fined Verizon and Sprint in 2015 for billing customers for ___ services without their consent.
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What might cause employees to support and implement unethical practices like cramming?
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Study Notes
Overview of Ethics
- Integrity is emphasized by the quote from Polonius in "Hamlet," which underscores being true to oneself as foundational to honesty with others.
Unethical Practices in Telecommunications
- Consumers face ongoing frustration with unclear and often unauthorized charges on their cell phone bills, highlighting a need for ethical practices in billing.
- In 2014, the FCC penalized AT&T Mobility with a $105 million settlement for "cramming," a practice that involved placing unauthorized recurring charges on customer bills.
- Cramming often included charges for premium services like ringtones and horoscope texts, which consumers unknowingly subscribed to, incurring fees up to $9.99 per month.
- Customers found it difficult to identify these charges due to the way AT&T grouped miscellaneous fees on bills.
- When complaints were made, AT&T typically offered only partial refunds for the cramming charges.
Regulatory Actions Against Major Carriers
- In 2015, AT&T faced an additional $100 million fine from the FCC for misleading advertising related to "unlimited" data plans, involving data throttling after a usage threshold was met.
- T-Mobile USA was fined $90 million in late 2014 for similar cramming practices, ignoring complaints for years.
- Verizon and Sprint received fines of $90 million and $68 million respectively in 2015 for billing customers without their consent for third-party texting services.
Ethical Considerations in Corporate Practices
- Employees responsible for unethical practices like cramming may have started with good intentions and ambition, raising questions about how organizational culture can lead to unethical decisions.
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Description
Explore the foundational concepts of ethics in this quiz based on Chapter 1. Delve into key themes such as integrity and self-truth, and reflect on their importance in moral philosophy. Prepare to engage with significant quotes and their implications.
