NCL, Former FCC Chairs File SCOTUS Brief To Defend Agency From Wireless Carriers
Media Contact: Lisa McDonald, Vice President of Communications, 202-207-2829
Washington, DC – Today, the National Consumers League, two former chairs of the FCC, and five other public interest organizations filed an amicus brief at the U.S. Supreme Court in FCC v. AT&T. The case was brought after telecom carriers were found liable for privacy violations that harmed their customers. The companies responded by suing to nullify the Commission’s primary fining authority under the Communications Act of 1934.
“As our personal data has become more insecure than ever, it is critical that we have strong regulators who are equipped to protect us from privacy violations,” said NCL Vice President of Public Policy, Telecommunications, and Fraud John Breyault. “Congress made it clear that the FCC’s job is to make sure that consumers’ sensitive telecommunications data is protected. The FCC, across bipartisan administrations, faithfully applied these mandates. The Court should ensure that the Commission continues to have every lever at its disposal to ensure America’s telecom carriers follow the law and to hold them accountable when they fail.”
Democracy Forward Foundation provided pro bono counsel services for NCL in this filing. The full list of signatories to the brief are the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, Consumer Reports, the Electronic Privacy Information Center, the National Consumer Law Center, the National Consumers League, Public Knowledge, former FCC Chair Reed Hundt, and former FCC Chair Tom Wheeler.
You can sign up for NCL’s biweekly #DataInsecurity Digest to receive updates on data privacy news here.
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About the National Consumers League (NCL)
The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.
