FTC Leadership Shake-Up and Its Impact on Privacy Regulation

Suzanne Smalley of The Record writes that the Trump administration’s removal of two Democratic Federal Trade Commission commissioners marks a significant shift in the agency’s approach toward consumer privacy regulation and big tech oversight.

The firings, which the ex-commissioners challenged in court, break from a 1935 Supreme Court precedent that protects commissioners from removal for political reasons.

The FTC has historically played a key role in regulating big tech and safeguarding consumer privacy, frequently taking action against data brokers, surveillance practices, and privacy violations.

With the FTC now under the leadership of Trump-appointed Chair Andrew Ferguson, experts predict a retreat from aggressive privacy enforcement. Ferguson has voted in favor of privacy-related enforcement, but in a memo to Trump, he vowed to end “novel and legally dubious consumer protection cases.”

The former commissioners advocated for stricter regulations on location data brokers, facial recognition, and AI-driven surveillance. Their removal coincided with the deletion of FTC blog posts critical of big tech. Blog posts criticizing big tech were removed from the agency’s website, a move that John Davisson, the director of litigation at the Electronic Privacy Information Center, said cannot be coincidental.

Ferguson’s previous remarks suggest alignment with Republican Commissioner Melissa Holyoak’s stance against what they perceive as agency overreach. Ferguson also ended public comments on surveillance pricing, further indicating a regulatory shift.

Companies facing FTC scrutiny may find a more lenient environment toward privacy regulation, while consumer advocacy groups may need to seek alternative legal avenues to protect privacy rights.

Pending lawsuits against data brokers face uncertain outcomes, necessitating strategic legal assessments. The ongoing litigation over the commissioners’ removal bears close monitoring.