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The story
AT&T, the major US telecom carrier, has agreed to pay a total of $177 million (about ¥28 billion) in a class-action settlement over two massive data breaches in 2019 and 2024. More than 110 million customers were affected, but only around 4.9 million actually filed claims. Those who can document financial losses can receive up to $7,500 (about ¥1.2 million) each. A simplified calculation — total payout divided by every affected customer — produced a viral “¥280 ($1.87) per person” figure, and the thread lit up comparing it to payouts Japanese companies have made for data leaks (like Benesse and SoftBank’s ¥500 each), with some even floating the idea of jumping on the ongoing Times Car class-action bandwagon.
Two massive data breaches at AT&T, the major US telecom carrier, in 2019 and 2024 exposed the personal information of more than 110 million customers. Given the sensitivity of the leaked data, consumers sought compensation through a class-action lawsuit.
The complaint (PDF) alleges that AT&T failed to adequately protect customer data and was slow to notify customers about the breaches. The company has not admitted wrongdoing, but agreed to pay a total of $177 million (about ¥28 billion) in compensation to those covered by the settlement.
Claims were due by December 2025, but payouts from settlements like this typically take a long time to process — part of the settlement fund has to cover administrative and legal costs, and the company must try to notify as many affected people as possible. More than 4.9 million of the eligible customers filed claims.
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here
What people said
Tim●s: "Other families are other families, our family is our family. Didn't your mom ever tell you that?"
Re: #2
Japan doesn't have punitive damages (because of civilian control), so no can do.
Turns out leaking the data is actually the efficient move!
Probably a good idea. Once you factor in the cost of reissuing your driver's license, lost wages for the day, and fees for checking with credit bureaus, there's no way ¥3,000 covers it.
Apparently a whopping 100,000 people have signed up!
Times Car Data Leak Class Action
https://timescar-lawsuit.com/
They're aiming to file suit before the end of the year, and will move forward with the proxy procedures. More than 100,000 people have reportedly registered on the lawsuit's dedicated website.
The defendants are the operating company Times Mobility (Tokyo), its parent company Park24 (also Tokyo), and the presidents of both companies.
Claims will be ¥50,000 for people whose ID photos (like driver's licenses) were leaked, and ¥30,000 for other personal information.
Those who reported to credit bureaus or had to reissue their license will get actual costs added on top, with participation fees of around ¥1,000.
Times Car to File Class Action by Year-End Over License Photo Leak, Seeking Up to ¥50,000 — Tokyo District Court
Jiji Press, October 26, 2026
https://www.jiji.com/jc/article?k=2026102600861
I don't get GMO's thing where they gave out PCs.
Does documentation proving financial loss even exist for something like this?
If your credit card gets used fraudulently, you get an email or something, right? Did you not know that?
I think Japan should introduce both civil punitive damages and criminal punitive fines. Capping penalties because people "can't pay" just creates more "nothing-to-lose" people (5ch slang for those who feel they have nothing left to lose and act recklessly).
4.9 million people actually filed claims. Divide ¥28 billion by that number and it's ¥5,714 per person.
The ¥1.2 million max is just for people with actual proven financial damage — if you were simply affected by the leak, it's more like ¥3,000.
Oh, that's basically the same as Times lol
Because they think an apology is enough 🤪
That's what they pay political donations for lol
I saw a report about someone taking out a loan in someone else's name using leaked license info, so I can't feel that relaxed about it.
More than 100 million people had their info leaked and the payout is ¥28 billion, so the average works out to less than ¥280. Are the people here saying "Japan should learn from this" actually hoping for ¥280?
Apparently it's the 4.9 million people who actually filed claims.
Apparently they copied the ¥500 figure from the SoftBank case lol
Even a cat got a ¥500 QUO card (there was a famous case where someone's registered pet cat received the compensation gift card).
Under the banner of "protecting workers," the government and companies just ignore the law.
Did a Japanese company actually do something fraudulent here?
To begin with, workers themselves don't have much respect for the law either.
Do you actually understand the breakdown? It changes depending on whether you have documentation or not (whether you can prove the extent of the damage). And even without documentation, there are different tiers.
Let's do this in Japan too! ¥1 million is huge.
110 million people's info leaked and the total compensation is ¥28 billion — so that's an average of ¥280 per person?
Times: ¥8,000
KDDI leaked 14 million email addresses, passwords, and mailbox contents back in June, and there was zero compensation for that.
KDDI: Suspected Leak of 14.22 Million Email Records Due to Unauthorized Access
https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXZQOUC237WT0T20C26A6000000/
Claimants: 4,900,000+
Even rounding up to 5 million people, that's $35.40 per person.
It averages out to around ¥5,000, but a lot of people clearly don't read the article.
Background and Key Points
US class-action settlements typically use a two-tier structure: plaintiffs who can document actual financial harm receive a larger payout, while everyone else gets a flat, lower amount — and this case is no exception, combining individual payouts of up to $7,500 (about ¥1.2 million) with a flat payment for everyone else. The “¥280 per person” figure that spread through the thread is simply the total settlement divided by all 110 million affected people; divide it instead by the 4.9 million who actually filed claims, and it comes out closer to ¥5,000-something per person. Japan has no punitive damages system, and past Japanese data breaches — like those at Benesse and SoftBank — have often resulted in payouts of only around ¥500 per person. In the ongoing Times Car class action, claimants whose driver’s license photos were leaked are seeking ¥50,000 each, and there’s growing attention to what influence the US case might have on how such lawsuits play out in Japan.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (News Speed+) thread “US Telecom Giant AT&T to Pay $177 Million to Breach Victims — Up to $7,500 Per Person.”
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