Supreme Court Upholds FCC Fines Over Carrier Privacy Violations

An 8-1 Supreme Court ruling upheld the FCC’s authority to fine AT&T and Verizon for failing to protect customers’ location data, saying that paying the penalties and then pursuing a jury trial in federal court suffices to protect Seventh Amendment rights. The decision distinguishes the FCC’s enforcement model from the SEC’s and reinforces agencies’ use of civil penalties, potentially affecting other agencies; the fines totaled about $57 million for AT&T and $48 million for Verizon.