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Home – Legal News – SCOTUS Delivers 8-1 Blow to AT&T, Verizon in $100M FCC Case

SCOTUS Delivers 8-1 Blow to AT&T, Verizon in $100M FCC Case

The Supreme Court on Thursday sided 8-1 with the Federal Communications Commission against two telecom giants over a combined $100 million in fines.

Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the majority. The lone dissenter was Justice Clarence Thomas.

Telecom companies AT&T and Verizon claimed the FCC violated their rights to a jury trial by issuing fines for an alleged violation of the law.

The FCC had found that both companies violated the 1996 Telecommunications Act, which requires carriers to protect the confidentiality of customer data. The commission fined AT&T $57 million and fined Verizon $46.9 million. Both companies sued, saying the fines imposed by an administrative body violate the right to a jury trial.

The government argued that the fines are similar to an indictment. As an indictment is only a notice of charges before a criminal trial, similarly, an FCC fine is an assertion that the government could proceed with a lawsuit, the government argued. The companies paid the penalties but later claimed they were misled and........

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