Ramirez Likely To Face Questions on FTC's Active Role, but Confirmation Called Likely
FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez's planned renomination by President Barack Obama Thursday (see 1512100066) is seen by industry lawyers and privacy advocates as being likely to succeed. There may not be any major opposition, one expert speculated. But she's likely to face questions on the agency's active role, which mostly drew plaudits from those we interviewed Friday. They said she has been an aggressive advocate for consumers and led the agency well since she became head in 2013. The Senate Commerce Committee did not comment. Unknown is who would fill the Republican seat on the commission left open since Joshua Wright stepped down in August.
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Reed Freeman, a WilmerHale privacy and cybersecurity lawyer, said Ramirez "has been a very active chairwoman in terms of protecting consumers and being forward thinking on issues such as cross-device tracking, big data" and the IoT. "She has been one of the most active and influential chairmen in recent years and ... she’s also represented United States' interests in connection with Commissioner [Julie] Brill in safe harbor negotiations vigorously and well and that benefits her reconfirmation hearing," he said. But Freeman said she may get some questions during the confirmation process on the agency's position on data security, since it has become a "hot-bed issue" that's raised some uncertainty for businesses, citing the Wyndham Worldwide (see 1512090023) and LabMD (see 1511160069) cases.
David Turetsky, an Akin Gump cybersecurity, privacy and data protection lawyer, said Ramirez seems to have been effective with her colleagues. Some members of Congress may have concerns about the FTC, but that's true with any federal agency, he said.
"She’s been an outstanding chairwoman and really pushed into areas of concerns raised by some of the new technologies" such as cross-device tracking, said John Simpson, Consumer Watchdog privacy project director. "I think she’s aware of the privacy issues that are raised by them and actively seeking to protect consumers privacy rights. I’m very supportive of her renomination." But he said the FTC doesn't have as much statutory authority as it should have and isn't on the same level as in Europe. He said the U.S. should pass some baseline privacy legislation that would give the agency more enforcement authority. Center for Digital Democracy Executive Director Jeff Chester emailed that Ramirez "has moved the FTC to better address 21st Century consumer protection issues. She should be confirmed as soon as possible to ensure the commission can fulfill its important mission."
Electronic Privacy Information Center President Marc Rotenberg emailed that consumer groups respect Ramirez's dedication, "but we are increasingly concerned that the Commission is not doing enough to safeguard consumer privacy. Data breaches are on the rise. Identity theft is increasing dramatically. The Internet is becoming ever more dangerous for even simple financial transactions. And now the highest court in Europe has determined that Safe Harbor, which the FTC was responsible for enforcing, does not provide an adequate basis to protect the personal information of Europeans." He said the bigger question is whether the agency, under any chair, can protect consumer privacy: "We have become doubtful."
Freeman speculated that Wright's replacement will be an antitrust expert since the former commissioner's expertise is antitrust and economics. "He was a good and active commissioner and very thoughtful in terms of prioritizing antitrust," Freeman said, saying Commissioner Maureen Ohlhausen, the lone Republican on the commission, is also an antitrust expert.