Supreme Court Sides with FCC Power in Forfeiture Process
The 8-1 ruling preserves a key FCC enforcement tool as Verizon and AT&T challenge $100 million in penalties over customer location data.
- On Tuesday, the Supreme Court ruled against AT&T and Verizon, upholding the Federal Communications Commission's authority to impose administrative financial penalties for privacy violations. The 8-to-1 decision preserves the FCC's enforcement power without requiring an initial jury trial.
- The dispute stemmed from nearly $100 million in proposed fines after the FCC concluded AT&T and Verizon unlawfully sold customer real-time location data to third parties without consent. Regulators determined the companies failed to adequately safeguard sensitive customer records.
- Companies argued the FCC's process violated their Seventh Amendment right to a jury trial, creating conflicting rulings between the 2nd and 5th Circuit courts. The Supreme Court's 8-to-1 decision ultimately rejected these constitutional objections.
- Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts concluded that FCC orders do not create immediate payment obligations because companies retain opportunities to challenge penalties in court. The Trump administration successfully defended the agency's administrative enforcement mechanism.
- Although the Court's conservative majority has recently restricted agency authority, this ruling maintains a key FCC enforcement tool for protecting consumers. Legal experts suggest companies may continue aggressively contesting future agency orders in federal court.
15 Articles
15 Articles
Supreme Court sides with FCC power in forfeiture process
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court upheld on Thursday the Federal Communications Commission’s power to issue findings that companies broke the law, turning aside challenges from telecommunications giants that the agency had to go to the courts first.
Supreme Court Drops Blockbuster 8-1 Ruling
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 …
Clarence Thomas splits conservative justices in Supreme Court case
The Supreme Court upheld the Federal Communications Commission’s authority to fine AT&T and Verizon for customer data privacy violations, preserving a major federal enforcement tool in an 8-1 ruling that split the conservative justices. Unauthorized tracking and weak safeguards The case centered on the alleged misuse of customer location data. By: MEGA The decision stems...
Supreme Court Backs Trump Administration Over FCC Data Privacy Enforcement on Telecom Giants
The US Supreme Court has handed the Trump administration a significant win in a closely watched battle over federal regulatory power, backing the Federal Communications Commission's authority to enforce privacy rules against telecom giants including AT&T and Verizon. The ruling preserves one of the FCC's most aggressive enforcement tools at a moment when conservative legal campaigns have increasingly succeeded in weakening the reach of federal a…
The Times of Northwest Indiana
High court backs FCC in case about penalties
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court backed the Federal Communications Commission's system for levying fines, ruling Thursday against wireless carriers AT&T and Verizon in their challenge to the agency and handing a win to President Donald Trump's administration.
Supreme Court sides with President Donald Trump administration on federal regulation of telecom companies
The Supreme Court sided with the Trump administration Thursday in upholding the power of federal regulators to enforce data privacy laws on telecommunications companies.
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