FCC is now in a bind with Supreme Court, Congress

The Federal Communications Commission now faces Supreme Court scrutiny over its power to issue fines, stemming from the agency’s decision to penalize the major carriers for location sharing. In 2024, the FCC fined AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon nearly $200 million for illegally sharing access to customers’ location information without consent. All three carriers sought review from the U.S. Court of Appeals, arguing the FCC’s procedure violated their Seventh Amendment right to a jury trial. The Fifth Circuit agreed with AT&T that the FCC violated the constitution, whereas the Second Circuit and the District of Columbia Circuit (which reviewed Verizon’s and T-Mobile’s cases, respectively) sided with the FCC. The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments for both the AT&T and Verizon cases, which in turn could impact the ruling against T-Mobile. No matter how the hearing shakes out, the FCC won’t lose its enforcement role, said New Street Research Policy Analyst Blair Levin. If the Court upholds the Fifth Circuit’s decision, the FCC would not be able to impose monetary penalties on defendants without a jury trial. The carriers chose to pay the fines and then appeal them in the circuit courts. Interestingly, had they declined to pay, the Department of Justice could have brought a collection suit, which would have resulted in a jury trial, Levin said.