T-Mobile may be first in line to take advantage of SCOTUS’s Chevron decision to vacate an $80 million FCC fine
In Featured News by Wireless Estimator July 2, 2024

On February 27, unaware that the following day, the US Supreme Court would decide to limit the broad regulatory authority of federal agencies such as the FCC, T-Mobile USA, Inc. filed a petition for review in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, contesting a substantial forfeiture order issued by the agency.



Missouri Sheriff Cory Hutcheson wanted to get tough on drug dealers but spent six months in prison after being convicted of illegally tracking mobile phone users without a warrant by GPS locations services provider Securus Technologies. He could have faced up to 20 months but skated on a sweetheart deal. However, the FCC got tough on the major carriers who allowed alleged unlawful GPS access with a $200 million fine. T-Mobile is appealing the decision and will likely be helped by Friday’s US Supreme Court decision.

The outcome of this case, likely influenced by the SCOTUS decision, could set a precedent for how federal agencies interpret and enforce ambiguous statutes. A ruling favoring T-Mobile could limit the FCC’s future regulatory actions and interpretations, particularly concerning new or evolving technologies and data privacy concerns. ... The proposed $80 million fine against T-Mobile and additional fines for three other carriers stemmed from allegations of mishandling customer proprietary network information (CPNI), specifically mobile device location data.

The dispute centers on a 2018 revelation that leading US wireless carriers, including T-Mobile, had been sharing real-time location data with third-party aggregators without obtaining proper customer consent. This practice came to light following reports that a Missouri sheriff had used a location-finding service to track mobile phone users illegally. In response, the FCC initiated enforcement actions against AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon, resulting in nearly $200 million in fines.

On April 29, 2024, a divided FCC, in a 3-2 vote, with Republican Commissioners Brendan Carr and Nathan Simington dissenting, concluded that T-Mobile violated Section 222 of the Communications Act and related regulations. The Commission imposed an $80 million penalty on T-Mobile, asserting that the company failed to take reasonable measures to protect against unauthorized access to customer location data unrelated to voice calls.

{snip}