In its ruling, the 9th Circuit held that AT&T cannot exempt its entire business from FTC oversight merely because a portion of its business is regulated by the Federal Communications Commission, a sister agency. For example, telecom companies' networks are regulated by the FCC, so the FTC does not oversee those networks. A court decision from the 9th Circuit agreed with AT&T in 2016, handing the FTC a major defeat. The FCC, meanwhile, might have jurisdiction over the burger chain's tiny telecom business but little else. "Today’s decision on jurisdiction does not address the merits of the case," AT&T said in a statement Monday.

Source: Washington Post February 26, 2018 21:32 UTC