McSweeny Hopes for Swift FTC Confirmations, More Data Portability

As she prepares to leave office Friday, FTC Commissioner Terrell McSweeny told us she’s hoping for swift action on the five nominees awaiting Senate confirmation (see 1804170058). McSweeny, a former domestic policy adviser to Vice President Joe Biden who has repeatedly advocated for better consumer data portability (see 1802220042), continues to seek more data control.

A benefit of data portability is the ease with which consumers can “move data around if they are not happy about the ways it’s being held,” McSweeny said in response to questions about the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica privacy controversy (see 1804110065). “Giving people more choices and ability to move their data around might be both pro-competitive and pro-consumer,” she said, noting she was speaking in general. “We are going to need to work with industry on data portability requirements and with Congress, as well.”

Asked for a timeline on the FTC’s investigation into potential Facebook violations of its 2011 consent decree (see 1803270043), McSweeny declined comment. Former Consumer Protection Bureau Director David Vladeck, now a professor at Georgetown Law Center, said to expect a decision by late 2018 or early 2019 (see: 1804060057).

After McSweeny leaves office, acting Chairman Maureen Ohlhausen (R) will be the only sitting commissioner. McSweeny considered staying in office until the next slate of commissioners is confirmed. Asked why she decided to leave now, McSweeny said, “I’m very hopeful the nominees will be confirmed soon, and it seemed like a good time. It’s almost exactly four years to the date that I took office.”

Consumer privacy, data security and competition issues will top the commission’s future agenda, McSweeny said. That’s in addition to the “full-time job” of protecting consumers from fraud and scams, she added. She said she's proud to have been on a commission composed entirely of women, and working in an “unprecedented period” with only two sitting commissioners. “We managed to reach across party lines, be bipartisan, forge consensus and work together pretty effectively while preserving the agency’s independence, so I’m proud of that track record,” she said.

Asked about achievements in office, McSweeny cited communicating with new constituencies in the tech space, including security researchers and hackers who help the agency understand how technology is affecting consumers. She enjoyed working as an ambassador in the tech sector, attending the DEF CON Hacking Conference, among other events, she said.

There’s “always unfinished business when your mission is to protect consumers and competition,” McSweeny said, saying the commission will have a lot on its plate concerning consumer privacy, data security and competition. The FTC needs to constantly be thinking about how it’s performing as an agency and whether it’s making the right predictions and assumptions regarding competition enforcement, in particular, she said: “My hope for [the incoming commissioners] is they will work hard to protect the independence and bipartisanship of the commission. I think those are important hallmarks of the commission, and I certainly hope they continue.”