AT&T Sues Advertising Watchdog, Says Recent Campaign Did Not Violate Rules

WASHINGTON, Oct. 30, 2025 – AT&T is asking judges to find its recent ad campaign did not violate an advertising watchdog’s rules, and to find the group's rules are largely not enforceable against the company at all.

At issue is an ad the carrier launched last week that bashed T-Mobile for being asked by the Better Business Bureau to correct its marketing claims 16 times in the last four years. 

BBB’s National Advertising Division said Friday, one day after AT&T launched its ad, that the carrier had violated the organization’s policy against using or mischaracterizing NAD findings against other companies in promotional material.

“In direct violation of this, AT&T has run an ad and issued a press release making representations regarding the alleged results of a competitor’s participation in BBB National Program’s advertising industry self-regulatory process,” NAD said in its own release.

The NAD added, “The integrity and success of the self-regulatory forum hinges on the voluntary agreement of participants in an NAD proceeding to abide by the rules,” and that AT&T’s ad “undermines NAD’s mission to promote truth and accuracy of advertising claims and foster consumer trust in the marketplace.”

Decisions like the one issued Friday can lead to networks pulling ads, something AT&T said in its lawsuit had already happened. The group also sent a cease and desist letter to AT&T, which the company said implied potential litigation.

AT&T’s press release that accompanied the ad said “The Better Business Bureau’s advertising watchdog asked T-Mobile to correct their marketing claims 16 times over the last four years. That’s more than each of the entire consumer-electronics and financial- services industries,” and the TV ad featured a prop newspaper with the headline “T-Mobile most challenged for deceptive ads.”

The carrier argued in its lawsuit that that was simply true, and summarizing past NAD decisions wasn’t the same as issuing its own press release drawing attention to an unfavorable decision against a rival company. 

“NAD’s contrary reading – that any participation in an NAD proceeding at any point in the past imposes a perpetual gag order regarding mere reference to any public NAD decision in promotional materials – is too broad to be right,” the company wrote in its complaint.

AT&T is asking judges to find the company’s ads didn’t violate any rules, and to find NAD’s procedures are largely not enforceable against AT&T in the first place. The company also wants the court to rule that the Better Business Bureau couldn’t obtain a 

“AT&T has not signed any valid and binding contract requiring it to adhere to NAD procedures. Nor has AT&T adequately expressed consent given the circumstances,” the company wrote. “If NAD’s procedures were ever binding on AT&T, their binding effect ceased at the conclusion of the proceeding or a reasonable time thereafter.”

The carrier also argued it could only be bound by NAD rules in proceedings where it was directly involved, which in this case would mean that it was the one who complained to the group in the first place. The company said in “several of the challenges” to T-Mobile that it highlighted, it wasn’t the one who complained and therefore shouldn’t be bound by any NAD rules around them.

The company additionally argued the First Amendment would bar a court from ordering the company to stop its ad campaign, should the BBB pursue that. The press release at issue is still online.

Twice last month, NAD recommended AT&T modify or discontinue some of its own advertising claims. The company said at the time it would appeal one of those decisions.

T-Mobile did not immediately respond to a request for comment.