FTC Chair Testimony Highlights Privacy Enforcement Priorities

Chairman Joe Simons outlined the Federal Trade Commission’s priorities for the next year to Congress yesterday during testimony before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government.

Simons identified some of the privacy enforcement priorities as financial privacy, children’s privacy, health privacy, the Internet of Things, and data security. He specifically identified investigations into Facebook’s privacy practices and the Equifax data breach as large and complex investigations that underscore the agency’s need for resources.

Simons also expressed a willingness as the United States’ leading privacy enforcement agency to work with Congress on the adoption of comprehensive data security legislation.

The testimony happened as part of the agency’s Fiscal Year 2019 appropriations request sought a budget of $309.7 million, an increase of $3.4 million for expert witnesses needed in complex investigations and litigation.

The testimony covered a number of the FTC’s recent enforcement actions within its priorities:

Financial Privacy: Enforcement of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act’s Safeguards Rule against TaxSlayer for failing to implement authentication and failing to require strong passwords.

Children’s Privacy: The FTC brought the first children’s privacy case involving Internet-connected toys against VTech Electronics for collecting children’s personal information without obtaining parental consent.

Internet of Things: Vizio agreed to pay $2.2 million to settle charges that it collected viewing data without consumer’s knowledge or consent.

Data Security: The FTC has now brought more than 60 cases alleging the failure to maintain reasonable safeguards upon consumer data.

The testimony followed four appointments on Wednesday by Chairman Simons to the agency’s senior leadership team for the positions of Directors of the Bureau of Consumer Protection, the Bureau of Competition, the Bureau of Economics, as well as General Counsel.

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