NEW YORK — The Federal Communications Commission has proposed roughly $200 million in fines combined for the four major U.S. phone companies for improperly disclosing customers’ real-time location.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said during a news conference Friday that the fines amounted to $91 million for T-Mobile, $57 million for AT&T, $48 million for Verizon and $12 million for Sprint. The carriers can object to the proposed fines, which could change. The companies didn’t immediately return calls for comment.

Location data makes it possible to identify the whereabouts of nearly any phone in the U.S. The carriers had apparently allowed outside companies to pinpoint the location of wireless devices without their owners’ knowledge or consent, according to published reports.

After word of the fines leaked Thursday, U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., who had investigated the carriers, said the fines were “comically inadequate” and wouldn’t stop phone companies from abusing Americans’ privacy. He said that big companies “take reckless disregard for Americans’ personal information, knowing they can write off comparatively tiny fines as the cost of doing business.”

Federal law requires that telecommunications carriers protect the confidentiality of some customer data, including location information. The FCC says that carriers must try to protect against unauthorized attempts to gain access to this data and that they or those acting on their behalf must get consent from customers before using it.