AT&T is arguing that its customers can’t sue the company for selling location data to bounty hunters, according to recently filed court records. AT&T says the customers signed contracts that force them into arbitration, meaning consumers have to settle complaints privately with the company rather than in court. The filing is in response to a lawsuit filed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF).

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The news shows the hurdles consumers are faced with when trying to claim compensation from telecos and other tech giants that have arguably abused access to their data, including ultimately selling it to people without authorization to handle such information.

“The plaintiffs have an uphill battle,” Deborah Hensler, Director of Law and Policy Lab at Stanford University, said.

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“In general courts have upheld the application of mandatory arbitration clauses in consumer contracts that preclude litigating in court and typically also preclude any form of group proceeding in arbitration, meaning each claimant must proceed individually. In these sorts of small claims, the requirement to proceed individually further weakens the plaintiffs’ position,” Hensler said.

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“If consumers carefully read [the] fine print they will find out how they can opt-out of the arbitration requirement. Most of course don’t notice or pay attention to this, in which case their attempts to overcome the arbitration requirement subsequently are significantly weakened,” Hensler said.