Supreme Court To Hear Case Challenging FCC Fines

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear consolidated cases challenging massive FCC fines against Verizon and AT&T, deciding whether the Federal Communications Commission can impose large civil penalties without a jury trial — a ruling that could significantly limit the agency's (and potentially other regulators') enforcement powers.

The cases stem from nearly $200 million in penalties the FCC levied in 2024 against major wireless carriers for illegally sharing access to customers' real-time location data with third parties without proper consent. Verizon was fined nearly $47 million, AT&T $57 million, T-Mobile $80 million (plus $12 million for former subsidiary Sprint), with the carriers accused of failing to adequately protect or obtain consent for sharing sensitive geolocation information.Verizon and AT&T appealed, arguing the FCC's administrative process violates the Seventh Amendment right to a jury trial. 

This follows the Supreme Court's 2024 6-3 decision in SEC v. Jarkesy, which struck down the Securities and Exchange Commission's use of in-house tribunals for civil fraud penalties requiring jury trials in federal court.

Appellate courts split on the issue: The 2nd Circuit (New York) upheld the FCC's fine against Verizon, finding no violation because companies could refuse payment and force a jury trial via DOJ collection action. The 5th Circuit (New Orleans) sided with AT&T, invalidating the fine and ruling that the FCC's initial penalty assessment deprived defendants of their constitutional jury right before any court involvement.

The conflicting rulings prompted appeals: Verizon sought Supreme Court review of the 2nd Circuit decision, while the FCC (via Solicitor General) appealed the 5th Circuit's AT&T ruling. The justices granted certiorari on January 9, 2026, to resolve the circuit split.

The government warns that a ruling against the FCC "deprives the Commission of one of its most important regulatory remedies and severely impairs the agency’s ability to enforce federal communications law." A decision is expected by June 2026, amid the Court's ongoing scrutiny of federal agency authority following the overturning of Chevron deference and other limits on regulatory power.