Court case

The Supreme Court agreed to hear TikTok’s challenge to a law that could ban its U.S. operations, putting the case on an exceptionally fast track, culminating in oral arguments at a special session on Jan. 10. In setting aside two hours for the argument, the justices signaled that they viewed the case as presenting questions of exceptional importance. The move came only two days after TikTok and its Chinese parent company filed an emergency application.

In a November 21 FedSoc Blog post, the Phoenix Center’s Lawrence J. Spiwak convincingly argued that the Supreme Court’s decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo (2024) eliminated the Federal Communications Commission’s power to make binding authoritative legal interpretations of federal statutes. However, Mr.

The US Supreme Court rejected a broadband industry appeal and let New York become the first state to cap rates for low-income households. The high court, without comment, refused to consider industry arguments that a federal telecommunications law precludes New York and other states from regulating the rates charged for internet service. Business groups told the court that other states are now likely to follow New York’s lead, creating a patchwork of rules around the country.

We are definitely entering into a new era in regulation. Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile are disputing the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) ability to levy fines on them. The fines in question all stem from an FCC action to penalize the carriers for selling customer location data to aggregators. This data allows marketers to become intimately knowledgeable about where people spend their time every day.

The Interactive Advertising Bureau, cable industry lobbyists and others asked a federal appellate court to block the Federal Trade Commission's new click-to-cancel rules, which aim to make it easier for consumers to end subscriptions to newspapers, gyms, retailers and other businesses. Those rules require companies to offer subscribers a simple cancellation mechanism, and let consumers cancel subscriptions through the same medium that was used to purchase them.

 A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that TikTok can be banned in the U.S. over national security concerns, upholding a federal law requiring the popular social media app to shed its Chinese ownership to keep operating. The court said Congress has the power to take action against TikTok to protect U.S. interests.

The Supreme Court signaled it may take up a case that could determine whether Internet service providers must terminate users who are accused of copyright infringement. In an order, the court invited the Department of Justice's solicitor general to file a brief "expressing the views of the United States." In Sony Music Entertainment v.

The fate of the $8 billion Universal Service Fund (USF) now lies in the hands of the Supreme Court, which has the power to determine whether the subsidy program is unconstitutional. The legality issue concerns the Federal Communications Commission’s choice to delegate the administration of USF programs (Connect America Fund, Lifeline, E-Rate and Rural Health Care) to a private third party—the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC). The Sixth and Eleventh Circuits have already ruled to uphold the constitutionality of the USF’s current funding mechanism.

The Supreme Court, which dealt a major blow to the power of federal agencies in June, agreed to consider another: whether Congress violates the Constitution by delegating broad discretion to them. The so-called nondelegation doctrine has been largely dormant since 1935, when the Supreme Court struck down New Deal laws for granting too much leeway to agencies with insufficient guidance.

We are grateful that the Supreme Court has granted certiorari and will review the Fifth Circuit’s finding that the universal service contribution mechanism is unconstitutional as currently structured.