Congress, FCC, Tech Eager to See Fully Staffed FTC
Movement toward a more fully staffed FTC is welcome news to industry and policymakers that work with the agency and would like the commission to take on a larger public policy role. If the Senate approves the four nominations the White House announced Thursday (see 1801250055 and 1801250066), the FTC will have a Republican majority after working with just two commissioners -- one Republican and one Democrat -- since February when Commissioner Edith Ramirez left (see 1701130030). The new nominees are Joseph Simons, who has been tapped as chairman; Noah Phillips, chief counsel to Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas; Christine Wilson, senior vice president-regulatory and international affairs at Delta Air Lines; and Rohit Chopra, former Consumer Financial Protection Bureau assistant director.
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FCC Chairman Ajit Pai looks forward to a “productive partnership” with the incoming chairman, antitrust expert Simons, and engaging on competition and the fight against illegal robocalls. Pai congratulated acting Chairman Maureen Ohlhausen on her FTC tenure and nomination to be a judge on the U.S. Court of Federal Claims (see 1801230076). The FTC’s role as “cop on the beat protecting consumers is as important as ever,” said House Digital Commerce and Consumer Protection Subcommittee Chairman Bob Latta, R-Ohio.
“I think you can expect a substantial amount of continuity in the FTC’s program, but new leaders typically bring something new to the mix,” said George Washington University law professor William Kovacic, a former FTC chairman. “The existing litigation program for competition and consumer protection is quite substantial and demanding.” Kovacic said that in the early 2000s, he worked with Simons at the FTC, where he “ran a very ambitious program of cases and studies” as director of the Competition Bureau. “I do not think that Joe, at this stage in his career and with many substantial professional achievements to his credit, would be coming back to the FTC just for the honour of being called ‘Mr. Chairman,’” Kovacic emailed. “I anticipate a robust competition and consumer protection in the Simons era.”
“It’s good we four nominees, and I hope we’ll have a fifth soon,” Aaron Cooper, vice president-global policy, BSA|The Software Alliance, told us. A fully staffed commission will be good for industry, which values the commission’s expertise on data privacy, particularly as it applies internationally with the upcoming May 25 implementation of the EU's general data protection degulation that affects many U.S. companies, Cooper said. Policy votes before the FTC tend to be bipartisan, and “I hope that continues,” he said. The commission provides important expertise on cross-border data flows “where we’re increasingly seeing restrictions,” he said. Work on the Privacy Shield also is critical, he said.
“The FTC is in uncharted territory since it’s unprecedented to have four new commissioners join at the same time,” said cybersecurity consulting firm Providence Group Chairman Dan Caprio, who has known Simons for years. “The new FTC will have a lot of underbrush that needs to be cleared out since many of the Ramirez-era cases that were voted out on a 2-1 party line are languishing in federal court. The FTC will be well served” by Simons' and Wilsons' “in-house experience,” Caprio said: “I expect the new FTC will be very active bringing enforcement actions that promote competition and protect consumers.”
Simons “has the experience to know the FTC’s jurisdiction, what the agency does, and the tools it has available to accomplish its mission,” said Free State Foundation President Randolph May. “Everyone will be looking to see whether the FTC will be taking a more critical look at the practices and market power of the Internet giants like Google, Amazon and Facebook, because many are arguing, in light of their dominant positions, that the agency should.”
Simons' expertise will "ensure that the FTC will focus on bringing cases to protect consumers from marketplace deception, fraud, and other substantial injuries where there is proof of harm to consumers," said Mark MacCarthy, Software & Information Industry Association vice president-public policy. Chopra has a history of working to improve consumer welfare in ways that will add a unique perspective to the Commission," MacCarthy said, and Wilson, who previously worked at the commission, has deep expertise in both consumer protection and antitrust which makes her a valuable addition.