The Supreme Court ruled that the Federal Communications Commission can impose financial penalties on telecommunications companies without requiring a jury trial, rejecting constitutional challenges from AT&T and Verizon.
The decision resolved a split among federal appeals courts over whether the FCC’s administrative enforcement process violated the Seventh Amendment. The case centered on $104 million in fines issued to AT&T and Verizon in 2024 for improperly handling customers’ real-time location data, a practice exposed in 2018.
The Legal Challenge
AT&T and Verizon argued that the FCC’s penalty process deprived them of constitutional protections guaranteed in civil cases involving substantial financial penalties. The carriers contended that bypassing jury trials in administrative proceedings violated their rights under the Seventh Amendment.
AT&T won support from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which threw out its fine. However, Verizon lost a similar challenge before the 2nd Circuit, creating conflicting rulings that prompted Supreme Court review.
The Court’s Decision
Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that the FCC’s forfeiture proceedings
