Supreme Court sides with Trump administration on federal regulation of telecom companies
WASHINGTON (AP) — Supreme Court in a lawsuit siding with the Trump administration on Thursday. Federal regulators’ authority to enforce data privacy laws in telecommunication companies.
The 8-1 decision upheld one of the Federal Communications Commission’s key tools, but the companies also won a concession from the Republican administration that could change the regulatory landscape.
Objection telecommunications giants Verizon and AT&T appealed the total fine of $100 million, which was imposed after the agency found that the companies failed to protect customer location data.
The companies argued that the FCC process was unconstitutional because it did not give them the opportunity to tell their side of the story before a jury.
The administration has argued that penalties are an important regulatory tool. But the government also said companies did not have to pay the fines immediately; this was a regulatory change in the company’s favor.
The Supreme Court agreed.
“The orders at issue failed to satisfy the carriers’ statutory obligations because, simply put, they did not create an obligation to pay,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the majority.
Justice Clarence Thomas dissented, saying the agency could have gone further in limiting its power.
Other agencies use similar enforcement methods, so such a big victory by AT&T and Verizon could have broad implications, lawyers said.
The Supreme Court’s conservative majority has gone the other way, limiting the power of federal agencies before. This includes overturns a decades-old decision gave regulators leverage in court and stripped another agency of its authority An important tool in the fight securities fraud.
