President Joe Biden is requesting increased funding in FY 2025 for the FCC, Patent Office and the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (see 2303130070). The FY25 requests are lower than FY24's for the FTC, NTIA, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, DOJ’s Antitrust Division and some Agriculture Department broadband programs, though in some cases the Biden proposal exceeds ultimate Congressional allocations for FY24. Biden signed off Saturday on the Consolidated Appropriations Act FY24 appropriations minibus package (HR-4366), which included funding cuts for NTIA and other Commerce agencies but a slight increase for DOJ Antitrust (see 2403040083). The Senate voted 75-22 Friday night to approve the package.
FTC Chair Lina Khan on Friday welcomed newly confirmed Commissioners Andrew Ferguson and Melissa Holyoak (see 2403070072), saying she looks forward to working “vigorously” with them on competition and consumer protection issues. Khan also welcomed the Senate's reconfirmation of Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter. Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said Congress expects the full commission to “prioritize pressing issues, such as bringing transparency to rising prescription drug costs, enforcing online privacy, cracking down on junk fees and returning money to victims of fraud.”
FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel hailed Fara Damelin's confirmation as the commission’s inspector general (see 2403070072). Damelin’s “decades of experience in roles overseeing government operations will help us ensure the ongoing integrity and success of the Commission’s work,” Rosenworcel said Friday. The Senate approved Damelin Thursday night as part of a package that also included a trio of FTC nominees, including GOP Commissioners Andrew Ferguson and Melissa Holyoak (see 2403080038). Damelin is the FCC’s first Senate-confirmed IG. Her confirmation gives the watchdog office its first permanent leader since appointed incumbent David Hunt died in January 2023 (see 2301260026).
The FTC’s case against Amazon and Alexa data privacy practices shows tech innovation isn't an excuse for companies to ignore privacy obligations, FTC Chair Lina Khan said Wednesday. Companies can’t retain user data “forever” just because it could be useful to AI training models in the future, she said during FTC PrivacyCon. Amazon in June agreed to pay more than $30 million to settle several allegations, including FTC claims the company violated privacy law when it retained children's voice and geolocation data despite parents requesting deletion. The rise of AI motivates companies to “vacuum up” user data, so “rules of the road” are “more essential than ever,” said Khan. AI presents a moment of “opportunity” with “tremendous risk,” and companies shouldn’t be “racing to the bottom” with business models that entrench data surveillance, automate discrimination and turbocharge fraud, she said. The FTC in other cases has made clear that selling certain data is “presumptively off-limits,” including data related to location, health and browsing history, she said. Commissioner Alvaro Bedoya added, this FTC won’t hesitate to seek outright bans on specific commercial practices that violate user privacy. He noted that in at least three instances recently, the commission banned companies from engaging in specific conduct as part of proposed settlements. This included the FTC’s December settlement banning Rite Aid from conducting facial surveillance for five years. The FTC’s January settlement banned InMarket from selling or licensing precise location data, and February’s banned Avast from selling browsing data for advertising purposes. If a company violates consumer privacy, the FTC will “seek the strongest protections for consumers” to end the practice, said Bedoya. Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter noted agency staff’s recent business guidance on enforcement against mass data collection practices. The bottom line, she said, is that “unfettered data collection can easily put you in violation of the FTC Act.”
NAB and backers of the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act (HR-3413/S-1669) are continuing to push for the bill’s passage, possibly by attaching it to a future omnibus appropriations package. The bill's supporters argue attaching the AM radio legislation to an omnibus appropriations package could help it overcome headwinds that have prevented its legislative approval since early 2023 (see 2401050065). CTA and other opponents of the measure argue it should go through a normal legislative process.
The Senate reconfirmed Democratic FTC Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter and approved Republican commission nominees Andrew Ferguson and Melissa Holyoak Thursday night on voice votes, setting the body up to soon return to a 3-2 Democratic majority. The commission hasn't had any Republican members since former Commissioner Christine Wilson departed in March 2023. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., lifted his hold on Ferguson earlier Thursday after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., voted for Hawley’s Radiation Exposure Compensation Reauthorization Act (S-3853). Ferguson, Virginia's solicitor general, is a former McConnell aide. The chamber also unanimously confirmed FCC inspector general nominee Fara Damelin, setting up the watchdog office to have its first permanent leader since Congress made it independent of the agency in 2018.
The House Commerce Committee on Thursday will mark up two national security-related bills targeting TikTok, including one from Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., and ranking member Frank Pallone, D-N.J.
Walmart’s purchase of Vizio could “exacerbate concentration, data hoarding and privacy concerns,” so the FTC and DOJ should heavily scrutinize the $2.3 billion deal, Demand Progress and consumer advocates said Monday in a letter to the two agencies. The American Economic Liberties Project, the Center for Digital Democracy, the Electronic Privacy Information Center, the Open Markets Institute and Public Citizen signed the letter. Walmart’s proposal for acquiring Vizio’s advertising network will further allow Walmart to exploit consumer data for financial gain, they said. Vizio’s track record of violating user privacy by excessive tracking increases the privacy risks, they said. The deal will also allow Walmart to self-preference its new TV products, they said.
Colorado should pass a bill expanding its right-to-repair statute to cover digital electronic equipment like cellphones, the FTC said Thursday. Consumer Protection Bureau attorney Christine Todaro testified before the House Business Affairs Committee in support of HB 24-1121. Introduced in January by Reps. Brianna Titone (D) and Steven Woodrow (D), the bill expands Colorado’s right-to-repair law, which was last amended in 2023 to include farm equipment. The latest iteration would cover cellphones manufactured since July 2021 and other consumer electronic devices manufactured since July 2015. The FTC supports the latest bill because it protects consumers’ access to “cost-effective repairs and advances the numerous benefits that flow from increased competition in repair markets,” said Todaro. The bill awaits committee passage in both chambers.
President Joe Biden signed off Friday on a continuing resolution (HR-7463) that extended federal appropriations for NTIA, other Commerce Department agencies, DOJ’s Antitrust Division and the Agriculture Department’s Rural Utilities Service through March 8. The measure also extends appropriations for the FCC and FTC through March 22. The Senate approved the CR 77-13 Thursday night, averting a partial government shutdown that would have otherwise closed RUS late Friday. The House passed it earlier Thursday (see 2402290076).