arstechnica.com
The Supreme Court will decide whether the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) violates the Seventh Amendment right to a jury trial when issuing fines. The court consolidated cases involving AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile, who were fined a combined $196 million for illegally selling customer location data without consent.
The carriers argue that the FCC acts as "prosecutor, jury, and judge." They are basing their challenge on the Supreme Court’s recent ruling against the SEC in SEC v. Jarkesy. While the 5th Circuit agreed with AT&T that the fines violate constitutional rights, the 2nd and D.C. circuits ruled against Verizon and T-Mobile, respectively. The Supreme Court’s ruling could significantly limit the FCC’s regulatory authority.
