T-Mobile Wants Rehearing in $92 Million Location Data Fine Case
There's a circuit split on whether the FCC's process for issuing fines is unconstitutional.
WASHINGTON, Sept. 22, 2025 – Judges upheld a $92 million fine against T-Mobile last month, leaving the Federal Communications Commission penalty in place and affirming the agency’s ability to levy fines. The carrier is asking judges for a new hearing.
T-Mobile asked Monday for a full panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to rehear its challenge to the FCC forfeiture. Each of the big three carriers was hit with a similar fine last year, and each argued in court that the agency’s forfeiture process was invalid in light of recent Supreme Court precedent.
The Second Circuit upheld the fine against Verizon earlier this month, and the Fifth Circuit tossed the fine against AT&T, determining that under SEC v. Jarkesy (2024) the FCC can’t issue civil penalties without providing companies the opportunity for a jury trial. Experts have said the 2-1 circuit split on the issue makes it very likely the agency’s ability to issue fines will be appealed up to the Supreme Court.
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