ImportantSecurity & Privacy
Supreme Court arguments make it clear that FCC fines are "nonbinding"
The Supreme Court's oral arguments suggest that FCC fines may be deemed "nonbinding" and unenforceable without court action, potentially undermining a critical regulatory enforcement mechanism for telecom, privacy, and national security compliance. Regardless of the final ruling, the FCC will likely need to clarify its penalty language, creating uncertainty around the enforceability of regulatory fines and potentially weakening the agency's ability to compel compliance across the communications industry. This ruling could significantly impact IT organizations' approach to regulatory compliance and risk assessment, particularly regarding privacy violations and data security breaches.
Ars Technica2 min read
Supreme Court justices today expressed skepticism of AT&T and Verizon's claim that the Federal Communications Commission's procedure for imposing fines violated their right to a jury trial. But companies regulated by the FCC may come out ahead in the long run even if the carriers lose this case. AT&T and Verizon, which were fined a total of $104 million for selling users’ real-time location data without consent, claim the FCC's penalty system deprived them of the Seventh Amendment right to a jury trial. During oral arguments today, justices repeatedly pointed out that carriers could have obtained a jury trial if they chose not to pay the fines and waited for the government to begin an enforcement action in court. But even if AT&T and Verizon lose this case, they could get a victory of sorts because the FCC and justices seem to agree that FCC fine decisions are nonbinding and require a court decision to enforce them. A government lawyer told justices that the FCC may change the language of its forfeiture orders to make it clearer that fines don't have to be paid until after a jury trial.Read full article Comments