The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday against AT&T and Verizon in a closely watched dispute over federal penalties tied to the sale of consumers’ real-time location data.
The nation’s highest court held that the Federal Communications Commission’s enforcement process does not violate the constitutional right to a jury trial.
The decision preserves the FCC’s authority to impose financial penalties through its administrative enforcement system.
It is a major victory for federal regulators seeking to police privacy violations in the telecommunications industry.
The case reached the Supreme Court after a split among federal appeals courts.
Last year, AT&T persuaded the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to throw out an FCC fine, arguing that the agency’s process improperly bypassed a jury.
Verizon, however, lost a similar challenge before the 2nd Circuit, creating conflicting rulings that prompted Supreme Court review.
In an 8-1 decision, the justices sided with the FCC and overturned the 5th Circuit’s ruling. Justice Clarence Thomas was the lone dissenter, ARSTechnica reported.
The ruling strengthens the federal government’s power to impose administrative penalties on companies accused of breaking telecommunications and privacy laws, while reducing a constitutional challenge that could have greatly restricted the enforcement powers of regulatory agencies.
The dispute stemmed from $104 million in FCC fines imposed on AT&T and Verizon in 2024 over allegations that the companies improperly handled customers’ real-time location data, conduct first brought to light in 2018, the outlet noted.
After paying the penalties, both companies challenged the FCC’s enforcement process in federal court, arguing that the agency’s system violated their Seventh Amendment right to a jury trial.
Under the FCC framework, companies can pay a fine and seek review through the federal appeals courts rather than having
