This week, the FTC organized a “public roundtable” that is part of a process it calls “FTC at 100: Into Our Second Century.” Through panels and what it calls “self-assessment,” the FTC under its new chairman Bill Kovaciac has asked such questions as: “How well is the FTC fulfilling the destiny that Congress foresaw for it in 1914? What type of institution should it aspire to be when the Commission’s second century begins in 2014?”
But the two-day panel session illustrates what is wrong with the FTC. It is an agency generally afraid to represent the interests of consumers–think about the mortgage meltdown, skyrocketing oil and gas prices, and the lack of privacy online. The panels consist primarily of commission staff, former officials (who are now, given the FTC’s golden revolving door, primarily representing industry). There is only one consumer advocate (from CDT, which gets corporate funding) and one state AG official. There are a few academics, including those working at corporate-funded thinktanks. Participation by consumer groups and independent academic experts are simply not on the FTC’s agenda.
We have found the FTC to be a generally timid government agency–largely incapable of keeping up–let alone addressing on behalf of consumers–what industry is doing (especially with the areas I cover in digital communications ). There are good people at the agency, but they are tethered to a system that prevents consumer welfare from being truly protected.
A consumer-focused perspective–currently missing from the agency–would have included a serious discussion at this event by consumer advocates and academics who have actually studied and thought about the consumer movement in the U.S. The failure to do so reflects a serious failure by the FTC’s current leadership to ensure a broad and informed debate as it plans for the future.
The next FTC requires a chairperson and new commissioners who sees the agency’s mission working proactively on behalf of the public.
