The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the Federal Communications Commission has the authority to impose financial penalties on telecommunications companies through its administrative process without granting the companies a right to jury trials.

In an 8-1 decision, the justices rejected constitutional challenges brought by Verizon and AT&T, who argued that the FCC's in-house penalty proceedings violated their Seventh Amendment right to a jury trial. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the majority opinion upholding the agency's enforcement system.

The case centered on fines totaling more than $100 million that the FCC imposed on the wireless carriers related to their use of customers' location data. The companies had sought to challenge these penalties, known as forfeiture orders, in federal court with jury trials rather than through the FCC's administrative proceedings.

The Trump administration defended the FCC's current system for assessing financial penalties during the case. The ruling affirms the agency's ability to enforce telecommunications regulations through its existing administrative framework rather than requiring companies to receive jury trials when contesting fines.

The decision represents a significant victory for federal regulatory authority over the telecommunications industry. It allows the FCC to continue using its established enforcement mechanisms without having to provide the more extensive procedural protections that would come with jury trials in federal court.