SCOTUS Rules Against AT&T, Verizon Over Fines For Selling Location Data

After paying the penalties, both companies challenged the FCC’s enforcement process in federal court, arguing that the agency’s system violated their Seventh Amendment right to a jury trial.

Under the FCC framework, companies can pay a fine and seek review through the federal appeals courts rather than having the case initially decided by a jury.

The carriers contended that this process deprived them of a constitutional safeguard guaranteed in civil cases involving substantial financial penalties, ARSTechnica noted further.

Writing for the Court’s majority, Chief Justice John Roberts rejected that argument, concluding that the companies were not denied access to a jury trial because an alternative path remained available to them.

According to the Court, the carriers could have refused to pay the fines and forced the government to pursue collection efforts, a process that ultimately could have resulted in a jury trial.