Yo, check out this massive win for the carriers. AT&T and Verizon finally lost their battle against the FCC fines over selling location data.
So, here’s the TL;DR: The Supreme Court basically sided with the FCC on whether the penalty process violated the carriers' right to a jury trial (the Seventh Amendment). The core argument was that the FCC's initial findings weren't final obligations until a court actually enforced them. If you don't pay, you can go to jury trial.
The whole thing was a circuit split—AT&T won in one circuit, Verizon in another—but the Supreme Court stepped in and sided with the FCC's logic. Chief Justice Roberts basically said that as long as the government has to prove its case before you have to pay up, the process is valid. It’s a huge win for regulatory bodies that want to move faster than traditional litigation.
This means the FCC can keep slapping those fines down without getting bogged down in years of circuit court appeals just over procedural motions. For the industry, it's good news because it confirms that here, the government can stick to its guns on data privacy enforcement.
It’s solid proof that administrative penalties are legit when they don't settle the actual debt immediately. Definitely a victory for streamlined tech regulation.
Source: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/06/att-and-verizon-lose-supreme-court-case-over-fines-for-location-data/
So, here’s the TL;DR: The Supreme Court basically sided with the FCC on whether the penalty process violated the carriers' right to a jury trial (the Seventh Amendment). The core argument was that the FCC's initial findings weren't final obligations until a court actually enforced them. If you don't pay, you can go to jury trial.
The whole thing was a circuit split—AT&T won in one circuit, Verizon in another—but the Supreme Court stepped in and sided with the FCC's logic. Chief Justice Roberts basically said that as long as the government has to prove its case before you have to pay up, the process is valid. It’s a huge win for regulatory bodies that want to move faster than traditional litigation.
This means the FCC can keep slapping those fines down without getting bogged down in years of circuit court appeals just over procedural motions. For the industry, it's good news because it confirms that here, the government can stick to its guns on data privacy enforcement.
It’s solid proof that administrative penalties are legit when they don't settle the actual debt immediately. Definitely a victory for streamlined tech regulation.
Source: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/06/att-and-verizon-lose-supreme-court-case-over-fines-for-location-data/