Ex-FCC Commissioners, Consumer Groups Back FCC in Supreme Court Filing

As the Supreme Court considers a case that could have major implications for the Federal Communications Commission’s ability to impose fines, two former Federal Communications Commission Chairs and six non-profit consumer advocacy groups have submitted a friend-of-the-court brief defending the agency. The filing was made in consolidated cases before the U.S. Supreme Court regarding the FCC’s ability to hold wireless carriers accountable for data breaches and other violations of consumer privacy rights. FCC investigation into Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile uncovered that sensitive location information for tens of millions of the carriers’ customers was made vulnerable. After an investigative process, during which the carriers were given notice and the opportunity to respond, the FCC assessed massive penalties totaling nearly $200 million. In response, both Verizon and AT&T filed federal cases that have been consolidated into a case that the Supreme Court agreed to consider in January of 2026. The brief was submitted in FCC v. Verizon and AT&T v. FCC by Democracy Forward on behalf of two former FCC Chairs, Reed Hundt and Tom Wheeler, as well as the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, Consumer Reports, the Electronic Information Privacy Center, the National Consumer Law Center, the National Consumers League, and Public Knowledge. It stresses both the importance of SCOTUS upholding the fines and the FCC’s ability to levy them.