The FTC needs to be strong in order to solve Data stealing and selling – that helps democracy

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is the nation’s primary consumer protection body, and while some have called for a new data protection agency, most believe the FTC should be the body responsible for data security and privacy. Indeed, the FTC already enforces some privacy legislation and seeks to expand on its role in data privacy. As federal data and privacy bills are considered, it is therefore critical that we understand the role the FTC might play in overseeing and enforcing such legislation as well as the important role that lawmakers will have in setting parameters for the FTC. The issues related to rulemaking and enforcement authority are especially important and complex. Unchecked or overly prescriptive authority risks unwieldy regulation that could harm innovation and business, but too little authority risks insufficient protection from privacy harms and overly rigid protections that cannot adapt to rapidly changing technology. We must work to avoid both ends of this spectrum and, instead, strike a balance that ensures that the FTC is appropriately resourced to deliver on the agency’s promise to protect citizens and their data. As a result of our engagement with stakeholders, we believe the key to striking the right balance lies in “guided FTC rulemaking” in a federal law, echoed by privacy experts and private sector companies alike. With such an approach, Congress would be tasked with establishing clear guardrails and definitions around the type of rulemaking authority the FTC could use, the targeted areas in which that authority could be applied, and the means by which such efforts could be undertaken. Parameters for assessing penalties would also be key in ensuring that the enforcement of violations is carried out in a way that upholds compliance rather than conveying a perception of unguided fining.