The US Supreme Court has ruled in favour of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in a legal battle with AT&T and Verizon over the agency's authority to impose fines through in-house proceedings. The 8-1 decision, authored by Chief Justice John Roberts, upheld the FCC's system for levying financial penalties, rejecting the wireless carriers' argument that it violated their constitutional right to a jury trial.
The dispute stemmed from fines totalling nearly $200 million imposed on several carriers, including AT&T ($57 million), Verizon ($47 million), T-Mobile ($80 million), and Sprint ($12 million), for allegedly selling customer location data to third parties without consent. AT&T and Verizon paid the fines but challenged the FCC's in-house process, arguing it deprived them of a jury trial under the US Constitution.
The Trump administration defended the FCC's system, contending that the agency's assessments were not binding and that companies could still seek a jury trial if the government pursued enforcement in court. The Supreme Court agreed, stating that the in-house system does not prevent parties from bringing legal challenges to the agency's decisions.
Justice Clarence Thomas was the lone dissenter. The case follows a 2024 Supreme Court ruling that limited the use of in-house proceedings at the Securities and Exchange Commission, highlighting ongoing debates about the constitutional limits of federal agency enforcement powers.
