Members of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) asked Congress to add teeth to the FTC enforcement powers so that they can effectively regulate the handling of personal data by big tech companies like Facebook and Google.
Cecilia Kang reported on the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearings concerning a new national privacy law in this article published in the New York Times:
Lawmakers are considering a national privacy law to regulate the collection and handling of user data, the most valuable currency of the internet economy. The idea has won the support of some Silicon Valley executives, and drew Facebook’s chief operating officer, Sheryl Sandberg, to meet with lawmakers this week.
But progress has stalled over disagreements on the details of such a law, putting the United States far behind nations in Europe and beyond that have led a global charge to curb the growing power of big tech companies.
“We urge Congress to enact privacy and data security legislation, enforceable by the F.T.C.,” Joseph Simons, the agency’s chairman, said at the hearing.
The agency is nearing one of its most consequential decisions on privacy. The F.T.C. is in settlement talks with Facebook after a 13-month investigation into privacy violations, a decision that will set the bar for future enforcement of online privacy and provide a blueprint for regulation.
The case is also a test for Mr. Simons, a Republican appointed by President Trump, who is leading the settlement talks with Facebook. The agency is expected to impose a $3 billion to $5 billion penalty on Facebook for violating a 2011 privacy settlement with the regulator, in what would be a record penalty against a tech company.
