Verizon cannot claw back its $47mn location data fine

This article was published on August 17, 2026 The Supreme Court declined to amend a June ruling that recast the FCC's penalties as preliminary, leaving one carrier paid up and the regulator's main enforcement tool weaker The US Supreme Court has refused Verizon’s request to amend a June ruling so it could pursue a refund of the $47mn it paid over selling access to customer location data. AT&T, whose case is procedurally different, can still seek reimbursement of its $57mn. Verizon will not get back the $47mn it paid over customer location data. The US Supreme Court declined on Monday to amend a ruling it issued in June so that an appeals court could consider the company’s refund claim. AT&T is better placed. Its case is procedurally different, which leaves it able to pursue reimbursement of the $57mn it paid. The penalties date to April 2024, when the Federal Communications Commission fined four carriers close to $200mn between them. T-Mobile was assessed $80mn, AT&T $57mn, Verizon $47mn and Sprint $12mn, for selling access to customers’ location information to aggregators who resold it on. What that meant in practice was worse than the sums suggest. LocationSmart left a demo onlin