"unauthorized third-party charges on its customers’ wireline telephone bills"
This has nothing to do with wireless or Apple, so I don't know why we care about it here. Wireline is run pretty much independently due to differences in state and federal regulation.
I believe part of the problem is by default, AT&T has to allow charges on customer's phone bills from whoever, such as long distance services and 900 numbers, because the wireline people are a monopoly and aren't allowed to pick what competing service is allowed.
Yes...good catch