⚖ Oral Arguments, with Context

The Supreme Court considers whether the FCC may issue large forfeiture orders without a jury. The FCC found that AT&T and Verizon failed to safeguard customers' location data and assessed about fifty-seven million dollars against AT&T and forty-seven million against Verizon. The carriers paid and sought review. The Fifth Circuit vacated AT&T's order, while the Second Circuit upheld Verizon's. Under the Communications Act, a carrier may instead refuse to pay; the government must then sue, and liability is tried from scratch before a jury. The carriers say the agency orders themselves conclusively impose penalties, making this scheme unconstitutional under SEC versus Jarkesy. The government says the orders merely permit a later collection suit and have no binding effect. After this argument, the Court ruled eight to one for the FCC. It held that the orders do not create an obligation to pay or bind a later jury, so issuing them without a jury does not violate the Seventh Amendment.

FCC v. AT&T (No. 25-406) — Supreme Court of the United States, argued April 21, 2026.