AT&T and Verizon lose Supreme Court case over fines for selling location data

Key Points:

• The Supreme Court ruled 8-1 that the FCC's process for issuing fines to AT&T and Verizon for selling real-time location data without user consent does not violate the carriers' Seventh Amendment right to a jury trial, reversing a prior appeals court decision.
• The Court held that FCC forfeiture orders are nonbinding until enforced through a court proceeding, where carriers can receive a jury trial, meaning fines can be challenged either by paying and appealing or by refusing payment and litigating in court.
• The ruling affirms the FCC’s authority to investigate and propose penalties, maintaining an important enforcement tool to protect consumers, with legal experts noting that carriers attempted to avoid accountability by disputing the process.
• Justice Clarence Thomas dissented, arguing that the FCC’s orders functioned as binding adjudications and that AT&T and Verizon were compelled to pay under protest due to the FCC’s enforcement approach, which he viewed as inconsistent with constitutional limits.
• The Court distinguished this case from a recent SEC ruling by emphasizing that unlike the SEC’s immediate enforcement powers, the FCC must prove violations to a jury before penalties are payable, preserving carriers’ rights to a trial.