Washington Federal Trade Commission Building
Source: Federal Trade Commission
President Joe Biden announced Monday that he plans to appoint privacy hawk Alvaro Bedoya to the Federal Trade Commission.
If confirmed, the nomination would end Biden’s options to the influential independent agency, allowing Democrats to move forward with an ambitious agenda on competition and privacy. Bedoya would take the seat occupied by Democratic Commissioner Rohit Chopra, who is awaiting confirmation to head the Office of Consumer Financial Protection.
The FTC is made up of five commissioners who vote on compliance actions and policy decisions, with a maximum of three commissioners from a single party.
Bedoya currently serves as founding director of Georgetown Law’s Center on Privacy & Technology. His academic work has analyzed surveillance technologies, including facial recognition. This experience could be an important addition to the FTC, which currently chairs Biden’s other candidate, Lina Khan, an antitrust expert.
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