New FTC CTO Soltani Expected to Advance Agency's Tech Prowess, Say Privacy, Consumer Advocates

Soltani has a “deep knowledge of a number of technologies that can enhance or undermine consumer privacy,” emailed Jon Peha, professor-engineering and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University and former FCC chief technologist. “This FTC cares about consumer privacy.” Soltani is a “gifted communicator when it comes to technology,” said Lee Tien, Electronic Frontier Foundation senior staff attorney. Explaining the “fundamental principles” behind tech issues like “encryption, de-identification and security” is a key part of the CTO’s job, he said.

The FTC has been “burning through CTOs,” said TechFreedom President Berin Szoka. No matter who the FTC chooses for that job, the agency lacks the “institutional structure” to get “technology issues right,” he said. Unlike the agency’s economics and consumer protection bureaus, the CTO doesn’t have a bureau or even an office, he said. Instead, FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez has chosen to hire “more litigators” out of the agency’s discretionary budget, said Szoka: “All they seem to care about is getting wins on the board.”

Soltani is an “outstanding choice” and is “one of the best-known privacy and security advocates,” said John Simpson, Consumer Watchdog privacy project director. Soltani’s appointment “signals a real commitment and seriousness” by the FTC to moving with “greater depth into protecting people’s privacy online,” he said. Simpson said Sweeney’s relatively brief term as CTO could have been related to an academic sabbatical. The FTC didn't immediately have any information on when that sabbatical may have ended. Since Soltani isn’t tied to a university, he could have a longer stint as CTO, said Simpson. Sweeney will return to Harvard University as a professor following her tenure as CTO, said the FTC.

Soltani is “another in a series of really good hires” for the position, said Joe Hall, Center for Democracy & Technology chief technologist. The FTC CTO needs to be “on the pulse” of emerging technology, particularly for mobile devices, apps and drones, he said. Soltani has the ability to get “down and dirty” with technology and explain its implications, said Hall, who attended the University of California-Berkeley with Soltani. Whereas the past three CTOs have come from “academic backgrounds,” Soltani has “cut his teeth doing consumer forensic activities,” he said. That’s “really encouraging for us to see,” Hall said.

Soltani’s appointment “reflects a major commitment by Chairwoman [Edith] Ramirez to do a full-court press ensuring that consumers are protected in the digital marketplace,” emailed Center for Digital Democracy Executive Director Jeff Chester. “The commission is actively pursuing key issues that require public exposure and redress -- including Big Data discriminatory practices, mobile and location tracking, and online lead generation.” Soltani will be the FTC’s “digital Sherlock Holmes, uncovering the array of largely invisible data practices that until now have operated without accountability,” said Chester. The consumer protection trio of Ramirez, FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection Director Jessica Rich and Soltani is "a powerful force that will bring about much needed change in the commercial online marketplace,” he said.

There’s a “growing trend” of federal agencies and companies hiring technologists to address complicated issues when technology and policy intersect, said CD&T's Hall. If a company or agency is handling “sensitive financial information,” they don’t want to have an “Exxon Valdez of information laid bare,” he said. Because Soltani has experience with NSA issues, FTC technological investigations could become “really state of the art,” said Hall.

Snowden Concerns

Soltani’s work on the Post’s stories about NSA revelations raised concerns from former intelligence officials about his appointment. “I’m not trying to demonize this fella, but he’s been working through criminally exposed documents and making decisions about making those documents public,” said former NSA Director Michael Hayden in reference to Soltani in a media interview. “I don’t think anyone who justified or exploited Snowden’s breach of confidentiality obligations should be trusted to serve in government,” said Stewart Baker, former NSA general counsel, in press remarks.

“That’s total bullshit,” said Hall in response to Hayden and Baker. Snowden’s NSA revelations have changed the relationship between consumers and governments, he said, saying Snowden is neither a “hero,” nor a “villain.” The Snowden leaks needed to be examined by technologists so engineers could learn “how the Internet has changed,” said Hall.

“We owe Snowden a deep debt of gratitude” for disclosing NSA material, said Simpson. “It was the right thing to do.” It was imperative that those disclosures be “analyzed” by a tech expert, he said. Soltani’s work with the Post on the Snowden revelations is a “red herring,” said TechFreedom’s Szoka. That has “nothing to do with how the FTC works,” he said.