5th Circuit Schedules Oral Argument on AT&T Data Fine
The 5th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals tentatively scheduled for the week of Feb. 3 oral argument on AT&T’s challenge of a $57 million fine the FCC levied in April (see 2404290044) for allegedly not safeguarding data on customers' real-time…
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locations. AT&T called the penalty arbitrary, capricious and an abuse of discretion within the meaning of the Administrative Procedure Act (see 2405130030). Verizon challenged the FCC’s fine against it in the 2nd Circuit (see [Ref:2411060008) and T-Mobile in the D.C. Circuit (see 2411260048). “If you have a serious, irresolvable conflict, contact us IMMEDIATELY via e-mail,” said a Monday notice from the 5th Circuit : “Do not ask to reschedule argument unless you can find no other solution.” The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, meanwhile, filed an amicus brief in support of T-Mobile in the D.C. Circuit. T-Mobile was fined $80 million for its violations, plus $12 million for Sprint's, which it subsequently acquired. The FCC “abused its investigative and enforcement authority to violate the companies’ Seventh Amendment right to a jury,” the Chamber said: “It announced and applied novel legal interpretations of the Communications Act to calculate and impose staggering forfeitures for activities that were not at the time of conduct a violation of any agency rule or law.” The brief said the FCC’s role in overseeing data privacy and security “is limited to specific regulatory activities directed by Congress, such as the regulation of ‘customer propriety network information’ -- statutorily defined term.”