FTC Nominee Wright Favors Do-Not-Track, Would Recuse Himself on Google
FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn faced members of the Senate Commerce Committee during a confirmation hearing Tuesday. If she’s confirmed, Clyburn could be in line to become acting FCC Chairman if Julius Genachowski decides to leave next year, as is expected by many (WID Nov 8 p1). The committee also heard testimony from FTC nominee Joshua Wright, an economist and law professor at George Mason University and former FTC Scholar in Residence. It questioned him on the balance between regulation and the ability of free markets to protect consumers, as well as his willingness to recuse himself in cases involving companies who have financially supported his academic work, such as Google. The committee plans to mark up the nominations next week, said Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., without specifying a date or time.
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Clyburn would not comment on a question from Committee Ranking Member Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, about the commission’s plans if the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit rules against the open Internet order in Verizon vs. FCC. “I'm not comfortable committing to a pathway forward at this time,” she said, urging lawmakers to offer guidance on the matter. “We are and will continue to weigh all the views in front of us and we will follow the law to the letter,” she said.
Clyburn said the American communications ecosystem has benefited from the commission’s work to promote a marketplace that both fosters innovation and offers consumers “reliable and meaningful choice in affordable service,” according to her prepared testimony. Clyburn said the service outages resulting from the derecho wind storm and Superstorm Sandy show the importance of the commission’s work to ensure the reliability of the nation’s communications networks. “We may not be able to prevent natural disasters, but we can and must improve our Nation’s ability to respond in such crises,” she said.
Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., did not attend the hearing because he was not “feeling well,” said Kerry, who chaired the hearing along with Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif. The chairman said in prepared remarks that Clyburn should approach her work with the following values in mind: “protect consumers, promote competition and make sure that all Americans … have access to an up-to-date affordable communications network.”
Wright said he would “absolutely” recuse himself in cases where he would have a conflict of interest, such as any investigation of Google, a company that has funded some of his academic work. Wright repeatedly cited President Barack Obama’s “Ethics Pledge,” which prohibits appointees from working on cases involving former employers and clients for two years after their appointment. “The FTC can sometimes move at a glacial pace,” said Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., meaning that cases currently in front of the commission that would raise conflicts of interest for Wright could still be in front of the commission once his two-year recusal period ends. In that situation, Wright would defer to the opinion of the FTC’s ethics officials, he said. “When and if there is any obligation under the letter or the spirit of the conflict of interest standards, I will recuse myself,” he said.
When asked about it by Boxer, Wright said supported “the commission’s view in favor of a Do Not Track mechanism” and would focus on consumer notice and choice. Boxer said his response was “good,” and asked that he provide in writing more detail about his opinions of the FTC’s specific proposals.
How can an FTC commissioner protect consumers while being wary of regulation, asked Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., citing Wright’s published academic work. “I do believe in rules and regulations. I also believe that markets are a powerful operation that work for consumers,” Wright responded. Rather than being focused on the amount of regulation, Wright said if he were confirmed his approach at the FTC would be “driven by thinking about consumer welfare."
Kerry urged both the FTC and the FCC nominees to encourage bipartisanship and collaboration with their colleagues. Markets will suffer “if you can’t bridge the ideological divide in order to establish a well understood, easily adhered to, effective and accepted body of law and regulation governing competition and consumer protection in the digital age that we now live in,” Kerry said.