Overview
- The Supreme Court, which ruled Thursday, issued an 8-1 decision finding the FCC may use its in-house forfeiture process without automatically triggering a Seventh Amendment jury trial.
- Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the majority opinion that the FCC's initial assessments do not themselves force payment or impose binding consequences, and Justice Clarence Thomas dissented.
- The FCC had imposed nearly $200 million in penalties after finding carriers sold customer location data without consent, including $57 million against AT&T and about $47 million against Verizon.
- The Justice Department told the court that the agency's assessments are nonbinding and that the government could still seek a jury trial through a separate court enforcement action, and it also said companies need not pay immediately.
- The decision resolves a split between federal appeals courts and could influence how other agencies design enforcement processes going forward while giving carriers more room to litigate collection steps.