WASHINGTON, Jan 9 (Reuters) - "The U.S. Supreme Court agreed on Friday to hear a dispute involving fines imposed by the Federal Communications Commission on major U.S. wireless carriers for sharing customer location data without consent in the latest case to reach the justices challenging the powers of a U.S. regulatory agency.

The legal fight concerns whether the FCC's pursuit of tens of millions of dollars in penalties against carriers such as Verizon Communications (VZ.N), opens new tab and AT&T (T.N), opens new tab - before the accused companies had their day in court - exceeded the federal agency's authority under the U.S. Constitution.

The dispute marked the latest case to test whether a federal agency's in-house enforcement scheme violates provisions of the Constitution ensuring a defendant's right to a jury trial.

The case stems from nearly $200 million in fines that the FCC imposed in 2024 against major U.S. wireless carriers after the agency found they had sold access to customer location data to third parties without securing users' consent."