Returning The FTC’s Focus To Consumer Protection (Public Meeting Comments)
At today’s open meeting of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), whose attendees included Chair Lina Khan, Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, and Commissioner Alvaro Bedoya, Lexington Institute’s Paul Steidler called on the FTC to focus “on its core mission of protecting consumers” and to jettison “experimental legal theories.” His remarks are below and in the PDF here. To view a video of his remarks, please click here.
Ladies and gentlemen, tens of millions of Americans are hurting economically.
The FTC can help by returning to and focusing on its core mission of protecting consumers. That means becoming more rigorous in identifying and stopping outright fraud and imposing substantial fines.
What is not helpful are burdensome regulations, especially where the FTC seeks to usurp the role of Congress. Also, as a wise antitrust attorney said, it is time to end “novel and legally dubious consumer protection cases.”
This includes jettisoning experimental legal theories and concocting scenarios where future harm may occur in nascent industries. The FTC is no better at predicting the size and scope of future markets than anyone else. Time spent in that regard is wasted.
Here are three other essential steps.
First, implementing changes from your Inspector General’s September 30 annual report regarding news leaks is important. As the IG said, “The mere perception that the FTC is leaking such information erodes (the public) trust.” That trust is critical to your mission. American businesses and consumers are right to demand the FTC protect their confidential data.
Second, the FTC must cease and desist all cooperation with EU enforcers on the Digital Markets Act and Digital Services Act against U.S. companies. The EU is using these laws to gain leverage over companies that drive America’s prosperity, including accounting for sizable stock market returns.
Third, the FTC must take to heart that it is not an AI regulator and stop trying to become one. This, too, is in the purview of Congress. A December 17 bipartisan House of Representatives report on AI provides a vital roadmap and framework for evaluating public policy decisions on this essential technology.
Thanks for your consideration.
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