Monday, June 19, 2023

The FTC is trying to deal with some of Big Tech's crap

As best they can, with Congress doing nothing.
The Federal Trade Commission Act only gives the agency the authority to regulate “unfair or deceptive” business practices. For years, privacy experts assumed that meant consumers were out of luck: as long as companies weren’t telling outright lies, they were free to do as they pleased with your data. The FTC reached a $5 billion privacy sentiment with Facebook in 2018, but the case hinged on ways the company misled users — rather than allegations that the unpleasant ways Facebook used data were inherently unlawful.

But under the leadership of Lina Khan, the Biden-appointed FTC chairperson, the commission has taken up data misconduct with unprecedented vigor.

The FTC does have some rule making authority, but it’s a slow, arduous process. In the meantime, it is changing tech policy by stretching existing regulations to places no one believed they could go. - Gizmodo

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