Supreme Court Reviews FCC's $100M Fines on Verizon, AT&T for Location Data Sales

U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments on April 21, 2026, in a case involving multimillion-dollar penalties levied by the Federal Communications Commission against Verizon and AT&T for selling customers’ location data without proper safeguards. The FCC imposed penalties on the companies totaling over $100 million.

Verizon and AT&T appealed the penalties to the Supreme Court, challenging the FCC penalty process as unconstitutional because it provides limited opportunity to present their side in court. ' The Trump administration defended the FCC penalty as an essential regulatory tool that provides a path to court.

The government stated that companies do not have to pay immediately after receiving a forfeiture notice.

' The Supreme Court consolidated the cases as FCC v. AT&T and Verizon Communications v. FCC. Verizon and AT&T also challenged the FCC’s authority to issue the fines. The FCC found that Verizon and AT&T sold customers’ location data without proper safeguards, leading to the penalties.

The FCC retreated from past arguments that the fines against Verizon and AT&T were binding. Companies receiving FCC notices of regulatory violations have two options: pay the penalty and contest it before an appeals court, or refuse to pay and wait for a federal lawsuit that could go before a jury.

Doug Orvis, a veteran telecom attorney, stated that neither option for companies receiving FCC notices is viable, so most companies pay up.

The Supreme Court’s conservative majority previously overturned a decades-old decision that had given regulators an advantage in court. The conservative majority also previously stripped another agency of a major tool in fighting securities fraud. The Supreme Court is expected to issue a ruling in the case by late June 2026.