Scott Delacourt Weighs In on Priorities for the FTC’s New Leadership

Wiley Rein partner Scott D. Delacourt was quoted in an April 30 Communications Daily article about issues that are likely to be top priorities for the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) new leadership. Mr. Delacourt chairs the firm’s FTC Regulation Practice and is a member of the Privacy & Cybersecurity, Telecom, Media & Technology, and Wireless practices.

New FTC Chairman Joseph Simons was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on April 26, along with four other nominees to the five-seat Commission. Chairman Simons and new Commissioners Noah Joshua Phillips, Rohit Chopra, and Rebecca Kelly Slaughter were sworn in this week. Communications Daily reported that Christine Wilson, who also won Senate confirmation last week, is expected to be sworn in after Commissioner Maureen Ohlhausen departs the FTC. Commissioner Ohlhausen will continue to serve on the FTC until the Senate confirms her nomination as a judge on the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, according to the article.

Mr. Delacourt noted that Commissioner Ohlhausen, while previously serving as acting FTC Chairwoman, had championed the issue of “informational injury” – the harm consumers suffer when information about them is misused. Mr. Delacourt said the effort to better understand such consumer harms ties into the Commission’s investigation of Facebook for possible privacy violations.