Posts about the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) by Professor Daniel J. Solove for his blog at TeachPrivacy, a privacy awareness & security training company.
In an unprecedented transition, the FTC just got a full slate of 5 new commissioners, three Republicans and two Democrats: Joe Simons (Chairman) – R Noah Phillips – R Christine Wilson – R Rohit Chopra – D Rebecca Slaughter – D It is difficult to predict how the FTC will approach privacy. The new commissioners […]
In a very important decision, FTC v. AT&T Mobility (9th Cir. 2018 en banc), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit en banc reversed an earlier panel decision that severely limited the FTC’s jurisdiction to protect privacy and data security. I strongly criticized the panel decision in an previous blog post. The FTC has taken […]
The FTC released the above chart showing the history of Commissioners, Chairwomen and Chairman of the FTC from 1915 through the present day. According to the chart, The Federal Trade Commission is composed of five Commissioners, and their terms extend for seven years. The Commissioners are appointed by the President with the advice and consent […]
Recently, Congress voted to overturn new FCC rules that regulated the privacy of broadband Internet Service Providers (ISPs). The rules implemented the Communications Act, 47 U.S.C. § 222 to ISPs, requiring opt in for sharing sensitive customer data, opt out for sharing non-sensitive customer data, as well as transparency requirements. Sensitive data includes precise geo-location, children’s […]
Co-authored by Professor Woodrow Hartzog The Federal Trade Commission is the most important federal agency regulating privacy and security. Its actions and guidance play a significant role in setting the privacy agenda for the entire country. With the Trump Administration about to take control, and three of the five Commissioner seats open, including the Chairperson, […]
Recently, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit issued a decision with profound implications for consumer privacy protection law. In FTC v. AT&T Mobility (9th Cir. Aug. 29, 2016), a 3-judge panel of the 9th Circuit held that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) lacks jurisdiction over companies that engage in common carrier activity. […]
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has become the leading federal agency to regulate privacy and data security. The scope of its power is vast – it covers the majority of commercial activity – and it has been enforcing these issues for decades. An FTC civil investigative demand (CID) will send shivers down the spine of […]
I am pleased to announce the publication of my article, The Scope and Potential of FTC Data Protection., 83 George Washington Law Review 2230 (2015). I wrote the article with Professor Woodrow Hartzog. The article addresses the scope of FTC authority in the areas of privacy and data security (which together we refer to as […]
Recently, the FTC issued a short guide to what organizations can do to protect data security. It is called Start with Security (HTML) — a PDF version is here. This document provides a very clear and straightforward discussion of 10 good information security measures. It uses examples from FTC cases.
Over at Fierce IT Security, Professor Woodrow Hartzog and I have a new essay, 5 Things the FTC Should Do to Improve Data Security in the Wake of Wyndham. The piece discusses some enforcement strategies we believe the FTC should use to maximize its effectiveness in improving data security. Our suggestions include: Do more proactive […]