US Judge Approves $177 Million Settlement in AT&T 2024 Data Breach Lawsuits

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A U.S. judge granted preliminary approval on Friday to a $177 million settlement resolving class-action lawsuits against telecom giant AT&T (T.N) over data breaches in 2024 that exposed personal information of tens of millions of customers. U.S. District Judge Ada Brown in Dallas ruled that the settlement was fair and reasonable.

The settlement addresses claims stemming from breaches announced by AT&T in May and July of last year. Depending on the breach, customers who suffered losses “fairly traceable” to the incidents can receive payments of up to $2,500 or $5,000. After direct loss claims are paid, remaining funds will be distributed to customers whose personal data was accessed.

AT&T denied responsibility for the criminal acts but agreed to the settlement to avoid prolonged and costly litigation. The company expects final approval by the end of 2025 and plans to begin issuing payments early next year.

One breach involved the illegal download of about 109 million customer accounts from AT&T’s Snowflake cloud platform, exposing six months of call and text logs from 2022 for nearly all its customers. In March 2024, AT&T revealed a related data set released on the dark web, affecting approximately 7.6 million current and 65.4 million former account holders, with data dating back to 2019 or earlier.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is also investigating the incidents. Last September, AT&T agreed to pay $13 million to settle an FCC probe into a 2023 data breach involving a cloud vendor that affected 8.9 million wireless customers. The FCC said the exposed data covered customers from 2015 to 2017 and should have been deleted by 2017 or 2018.

Accenture Reports Drop in Bookings Despite Strong Revenue, Launches AI-Focused Business Unit

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Accenture (ACN.N) reported a second consecutive decline in new bookings for the quarter on Friday, overshadowing its better-than-expected revenue results and a raised annual forecast. The consulting and IT firm is facing headwinds from reduced U.S. government spending and broader economic uncertainty, which have led to cautious client budgets and slower contract growth.

The company’s bookings—contracts secured for future revenue—fell 6% to $19.7 billion in the third quarter, missing analyst expectations of $21.54 billion and worsening from a 3% decline in the previous quarter. The number of clients with bookings exceeding $100 million dropped slightly to 30 from 32, while bookings related to generative AI reached approximately $1.5 billion.

Accenture’s CFO Angie Park highlighted that slower U.S. government spending will reduce fiscal fourth-quarter and annual revenue by around 2%, following only a minor impact in the prior quarter. Analyst Dan Coatsworth from AJ Bell noted that while earnings grew, investors are focused on future challenges, especially amid ongoing government budget cuts and contract delays.

In response, Accenture unveiled an organizational revamp to strengthen its AI consulting capabilities by creating a new business unit called Reinvention Services. This unit, led by Manish Sharma, head of Accenture’s Americas business, will consolidate the company’s AI offerings to better serve client needs amid the evolving market.

For the quarter, Accenture posted revenue of $17.7 billion, beating estimates of $17.3 billion, driven mainly by increased spending from financial services clients. Earnings per share of $3.49 also exceeded expectations of $3.32. The company raised its annual revenue growth forecast to between 6% and 7%, up from a previous estimate of 5% to 7%.

US Auto Safety Agency Reviews Tesla’s Responses on Robotaxi Safety Ahead of Deployment

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The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is currently reviewing Tesla’s answers regarding the safety of its upcoming robotaxi service, particularly how the self-driving vehicles will perform in poor weather conditions. This review comes ahead of Tesla’s planned limited launch of its robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, which could begin as early as this weekend.

Tesla has reportedly invited a small group of people to participate in a test of the robotaxi service, with posts and screenshots on social media showing that a Tesla employee will accompany riders in the front passenger seat. NHTSA had requested detailed information from Tesla by June 19 to better understand the company’s safety protocols and technology for the robotaxi rollout.

The agency’s ongoing probe covers 2.4 million Tesla vehicles equipped with Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology, following multiple collisions in reduced visibility conditions, including a fatal crash in 2023. NHTSA’s questions focus on how Tesla plans to ensure safety in challenging conditions such as fog, sun glare, rain, dust, or snow, and what the vehicle’s response would be if such conditions arise during a ride.

Additionally, the agency has sought clarity on how many vehicles will be deployed as robotaxis and the timeline for wider availability, especially for vehicles operated by third parties rather than Tesla directly. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has emphasized a strong safety focus for the upcoming trial, with humans remotely monitoring the vehicles during operations.

Tesla did not immediately respond to requests for comment, and NHTSA said it will update the public file once its review is complete.