Enlarge / A field service specialist for Dish Network Corp. installs a satellite television system. Photographer: Matthew Staver/Bloomberg via Getty Images (credit: Getty Images)
On Tuesday, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the US Department of Justice (DOJ), as well as four US states, won a $ 280 million civil penalty in a case involving Dish Network. The federal government alleged that the satellite TV provider had engaged in telemarketing improprieties that occurred starting in 2003. A US District judge in Illinois also ordered Dish to demonstrate that it has reformed its practices and to hire a third-party compliance expert to make sure that the company doesn’t call residents on Do Not Call lists in the future.
The FTC said in a press release that the civil penalty would be split up so that $ 168 million goes to the federal government and the rest would be divided among the four states—California, Illinois, North Carolina, and Ohio. Although the $ 168 million award is the largest civil penalty levied on a company for violating the FTC Act, the DOJ originally asked for over $ 900 million. Including the state’s claims, the potential fine had a ceiling of $ 24 billion.
In a statement to Ars, Dish Network said it would appeal yesterday’s ruling because it had not directly made the telemarketing calls in question:
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