U.S. Supreme Court upholds FCC fine process in carrier data privacy case

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Ciaran Ryan

2 hours ago

U.S. Supreme Court upholds FCC fine process in carrier data privacy case — Supreme Court backs FCC fines

A Supreme Court ruling on Thursday preserves the Federal Communications Commission's ability to pursue financial penalties through its internal process in a case tied to wireless carriers' handling of customer location data. The 8-1 decision rejects challenges by AT&T and Verizon and reinforces a federal enforcement tool that has faced broader constitutional scrutiny over agency adjudication.

Highlights

The U.S. Supreme Court upholds the FCC's in-house fine process in a major data privacy case, supporting penalties totaling nearly $200 million across AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, and Sprint.
Split appellate court decisions—2nd Circuit upholding Verizon's $47 million penalty, 5th Circuit siding with AT&T—prompt Supreme Court review of constitutional jury trial rights in FCC enforcement.
The ruling, alongside the 2025 Supreme Court decision backing the FCC's funding model, reinforces the agency's enforcement authority and regulatory oversight of the U.S. telecommunications sector.

High court ruling on FCC enforcement

As reported by Reuters, the U.S. Supreme Court sides with the FCC in a dispute over whether the agency's in-house process for assessing fines violates the constitutional right to a jury trial. The case centers on forfeiture orders issued after the regulator concludes that carriers unlawfully sell access to customer location data to third parties without user consent.

The FCC fines AT&T $57 million and Verizon nearly $47 million, while total penalties across carriers reach nearly $200 million. The agency also fines T-Mobile $80 million and Sprint $12 million, with Sprint later acquired by T-Mobile in 2020.

AT&T and Verizon pay their fines but continue to challenge the legality of the FCC procedure, producing a split among regional appellate courts. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upholds Verizon's fine, while the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rules in AT&T's favor, prompting both matters to reach the Supreme Court.

Implications for agency powers and telecom oversight

The dispute becomes another test of how far federal agencies can rely on internal enforcement systems after the Supreme Court in 2024 limits similar in-house proceedings at the Securities and Exchange Commission. In defending the FCC approach, Justice Department lawyers argue that the agency's assessments are not final because any government collection action still can be contested before a jury in court.

The carriers argue that the process belongs in court from the outset and that the FCC's initial findings cause reputational damage before a judicial hearing occurs. The ruling gives President Donald Trump's administration a legal victory and supports the FCC's broader enforcement authority at a time when the court is actively defining the constitutional boundaries of agency power.

The decision also follows another important FCC-related ruling in 2025, when the Supreme Court endorses the agency's funding mechanism for its multibillion-dollar phone and broadband access program for low-income and rural Americans. Together, the rulings strengthen the regulator's position in overseeing telecommunications compliance and public-interest programs.

Our earlier coverage of U.S. bank regulators’ deregulatory agenda outlined how the Federal Reserve, FDIC, and OCC planned to defend efforts to tailor post-crisis rules more closely to actual risk rather than process-heavy compliance. It also highlighted regulators’ push to leave more room for innovation such as AI and blockchain, while cautioning that advanced technologies can introduce new vulnerabilities that still require strong risk management.

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