{"argument_date":"2011-01-19T00:00:00Z","arguments":[{"argument_date":"2011-01-19T00:00:00Z","heading":"What happened at the argument","official_detail_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcript/2010","official_transcript_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/09-1279.pdf","paragraphs":["AT&T's lawyer argued the lower court correctly protected corporate privacy.","The FCC's lawyer argued the law protects only human individuals.","Justices questioned the scope of the term personal in this context."],"reargument":false,"sequence":1,"sources":[{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 11, lines 49-3","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/09-1279.pdf","page_label":"file page 11, lines 49-3"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 11, lines 7-11","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/09-1279.pdf","page_label":"file page 11, lines 7-11"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 12, lines 29-33","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/09-1279.pdf","page_label":"file page 12, lines 29-33"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 22, lines 51-51","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/09-1279.pdf","page_label":"file page 22, lines 51-51"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 23, lines 3-23","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/09-1279.pdf","page_label":"file page 23, lines 3-23"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 3, lines 19-3","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/09-1279.pdf","page_label":"file page 3, lines 19-3"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 3, lines 7-17","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/09-1279.pdf","page_label":"file page 3, lines 7-17"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 4, lines 5-13","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/09-1279.pdf","page_label":"file page 4, lines 5-13"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 5, lines 21-37","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/09-1279.pdf","page_label":"file page 5, lines 21-37"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 5, lines 5-7","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/09-1279.pdf","page_label":"file page 5, lines 5-7"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 6, lines 27-33","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/09-1279.pdf","page_label":"file page 6, lines 27-33"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 6, lines 9-19","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/09-1279.pdf","page_label":"file page 6, lines 9-19"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 7, lines 31-35","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/09-1279.pdf","page_label":"file page 7, lines 31-35"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 8, lines 17-21","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/09-1279.pdf","page_label":"file page 8, lines 17-21"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 8, lines 3-7","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/09-1279.pdf","page_label":"file page 8, lines 3-7"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 9, lines 37-47","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/09-1279.pdf","page_label":"file page 9, lines 37-47"}]}],"caption":"FCC v. AT&T Inc.","case_history":[{"changed_at":"2026-08-29T20:06:25.217891Z","explanation":"An official oral-argument transcript was verified.","status":"argued"}],"case_status":"argued","dek":"AT&T argues the law protects corporate privacy. The FCC argues it only protects human individuals.","dek_sources":[{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 22, lines 51-51","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/09-1279.pdf","page_label":"file page 22, lines 51-51"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 23, lines 3-23","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/09-1279.pdf","page_label":"file page 23, lines 3-23"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 3, lines 19-3","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/09-1279.pdf","page_label":"file page 3, lines 19-3"}],"dispositions":[],"latest_court_document_date":"2011-01-19T00:00:00Z","maturity":"official_transcript","official_detail_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcript/2010","official_disposition_urls":[],"official_docket_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/docket/docketfiles/html/public/09-1279.html","primary_docket":"09-1279","revisions":[{"correction_note":"Rewritten to the concise citizen-facing editorial standard.","created_at":"2026-08-31T20:56:57.739428Z","maturity":"official_transcript","revision_number":1},{"correction_note":"Migrated to the dated official Court activity contract without model use.","created_at":"2026-09-05T03:22:24Z","maturity":"official_transcript","revision_number":2}],"schema_version":"1.1","sections":[{"heading":"What this case is about","paragraphs":["The dispute centers on whether the Freedom of Information Act protects corporate privacy. AT&T claims the law covers business entities. The FCC claims it covers only human beings."],"sources":[{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 22, lines 51-51","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/09-1279.pdf","page_label":"file page 22, lines 51-51"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 23, lines 3-23","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/09-1279.pdf","page_label":"file page 23, lines 3-23"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 3, lines 19-3","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/09-1279.pdf","page_label":"file page 3, lines 19-3"}]},{"heading":"How the case got here","paragraphs":["The Supreme Court heard oral argument in this case on January 19, 2011."],"sources":[{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 3, lines 7-17","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/09-1279.pdf","page_label":"file page 3, lines 7-17"}]},{"heading":"What each side wants","paragraphs":["AT&T wants the court to confirm corporate privacy protections.","The FCC wants the court to limit protections to human individuals."],"sources":[{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 22, lines 51-51","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/09-1279.pdf","page_label":"file page 22, lines 51-51"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 23, lines 3-23","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/09-1279.pdf","page_label":"file page 23, lines 3-23"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 3, lines 19-3","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/09-1279.pdf","page_label":"file page 3, lines 19-3"}]},{"heading":"What each side says","paragraphs":["AT&T argues the statute protects the privacy of all organizations.","The FCC argues the statute protects only human personal privacy."],"sources":[{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 22, lines 51-51","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/09-1279.pdf","page_label":"file page 22, lines 51-51"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 23, lines 3-23","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/09-1279.pdf","page_label":"file page 23, lines 3-23"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 3, lines 19-3","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/09-1279.pdf","page_label":"file page 3, lines 19-3"}]},{"heading":"What the justices asked","paragraphs":["Chief Justice Roberts asked if privacy applies to corporate property.","Justice Ginsburg asked how the agency distinguishes employee privacy from corporate privacy."],"sources":[{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 11, lines 49-3","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/09-1279.pdf","page_label":"file page 11, lines 49-3"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 11, lines 7-11","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/09-1279.pdf","page_label":"file page 11, lines 7-11"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 12, lines 29-33","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/09-1279.pdf","page_label":"file page 12, lines 29-33"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 4, lines 5-13","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/09-1279.pdf","page_label":"file page 4, lines 5-13"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 5, lines 21-37","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/09-1279.pdf","page_label":"file page 5, lines 21-37"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 5, lines 5-7","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/09-1279.pdf","page_label":"file page 5, lines 5-7"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 6, lines 27-33","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/09-1279.pdf","page_label":"file page 6, lines 27-33"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 6, lines 9-19","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/09-1279.pdf","page_label":"file page 6, lines 9-19"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 7, lines 31-35","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/09-1279.pdf","page_label":"file page 7, lines 31-35"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 8, lines 17-21","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/09-1279.pdf","page_label":"file page 8, lines 17-21"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 8, lines 3-7","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/09-1279.pdf","page_label":"file page 8, lines 3-7"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 9, lines 37-47","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/09-1279.pdf","page_label":"file page 9, lines 37-47"}]},{"heading":"Why it matters","paragraphs":["This case defines who receives privacy protections under federal disclosure laws. It affects how agencies handle business records. It shapes the balance between transparency and private interests."],"sources":[{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 22, lines 51-51","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/09-1279.pdf","page_label":"file page 22, lines 51-51"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 23, lines 3-23","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/09-1279.pdf","page_label":"file page 23, lines 3-23"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 3, lines 19-3","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/09-1279.pdf","page_label":"file page 3, lines 19-3"}]},{"heading":"What happens next","paragraphs":["This article currently covers the argument record. Use the official docket link for later case activity."],"sources":[{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 11, lines 49-3","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/09-1279.pdf","page_label":"file page 11, lines 49-3"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 11, lines 7-11","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/09-1279.pdf","page_label":"file page 11, lines 7-11"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 12, lines 29-33","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/09-1279.pdf","page_label":"file page 12, lines 29-33"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 3, lines 7-17","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/09-1279.pdf","page_label":"file page 3, lines 7-17"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 4, lines 5-13","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/09-1279.pdf","page_label":"file page 4, lines 5-13"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 5, lines 21-37","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/09-1279.pdf","page_label":"file page 5, lines 21-37"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 5, lines 5-7","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/09-1279.pdf","page_label":"file page 5, lines 5-7"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 6, lines 27-33","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/09-1279.pdf","page_label":"file page 6, lines 27-33"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 6, lines 9-19","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/09-1279.pdf","page_label":"file page 6, lines 9-19"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 7, lines 31-35","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/09-1279.pdf","page_label":"file page 7, lines 31-35"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 8, lines 17-21","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/09-1279.pdf","page_label":"file page 8, lines 17-21"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 8, lines 3-7","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/09-1279.pdf","page_label":"file page 8, lines 3-7"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 9, lines 37-47","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/09-1279.pdf","page_label":"file page 9, lines 37-47"}]}],"slug":"2010-09-1279-fcc-v-at-t-inc","term":"2010","title":"Do corporations qualify for personal privacy exemptions under FOIA?","title_sources":[{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 22, lines 51-51","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/09-1279.pdf","page_label":"file page 22, lines 51-51"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 23, lines 3-23","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/09-1279.pdf","page_label":"file page 23, lines 3-23"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 3, lines 19-3","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/09-1279.pdf","page_label":"file page 3, lines 19-3"}],"topics":[],"undated_disposition_date_fallback":null,"updated_at":"2026-09-05T03:22:24Z"}