Snapshot · This Week in Tech (Audio)
The Supreme Court upheld an FCC ruling 8-1 to fine AT&T and Verizon a combined $104 million for selling customer location data to bounty hunters and data brokers without consent.
Where this was said
At 2:33:10 · chapter starts 2:04:40
Three regulatory stories close out the news segment. The FCC's ban on foreign-made routers is causing chaos for cable companies, which install the majority of home routers — all made in China. The National Cable Television Association is seeking a waiver, and Netgear and Eero have already received them by promising future U.S. manufacturing. Fr. Robert points out the absurdity: even if every router were domestic, all core internet infrastructure runs on Chinese-made equipment anyway. In the UK, the Competition and Markets Authority ordered Google to add more prominent links in its AI Overview search results and give publishers a meaningful opt-out — though Jeff Jarvis and Fr. Robert agree this is suicide for any publisher that exercises the opt-out. The Supreme Court delivered the day's sharpest ruling: 8-1 upholding $104 million in FCC fines against AT&T and Verizon for selling customer location data to bounty hunters and data brokers without warrants. Clarence Thomas was the lone dissenter, prompting predictable commentary. The panel agrees the fine is a rounding error but the precedent matters [1] — Leo Laporte "AT&T & Verizon fined $104M for location data sales: The Supreme Court upheld an FCC ruling 8-1 to fine AT&T and Verizon a combined $104 mil…" 2:33:10 .
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