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

The Supreme Court’s 8–1 decision cements the FCC’s power to punish telecom companies that mishandle Americans’ most intimate data: their real-time physical location. AT&T and Verizon had argued that the agency’s enforcement process was unconstitutional because it allowed massive fines without first giving them a jury trial. Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the majority, rejected that claim and emphasized that the carriers always had a choice: refuse to pay, force the government into court, and then demand a jury.

By upholding the FCC’s $104 million in fines and its broader enforcement framework, the Court preserved a crucial tool for policing an industry that quietly turned customers into tracking targets. Advocacy groups hailed the ruling as a rare, decisive victory for privacy, recalling how location data was sold, resold, and exploited by bounty hunters and even a rogue sheriff. For now, at least, regulators still have teeth—and the telecoms know it.