FTC Faces New Partisan, Legal Headwinds in Writing Privacy Rules

  • Republican commissioners opposed, citing pending legislation
  • Rulemaking process could take nearly a decade to finalize

Lina Khan, commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission.

Photographer: Graeme Jennings/Washington Examiner/Bloomberg

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The Federal Trade Commission’s decision to tackle online privacy opens a new area of conflict for Chair Lina Khan, bringing the agency under fresh fire from conservatives who argue that Congress is better-suited to draft data-security rules.

The rift is already evident within the FTC itself, where both Republican commissioners voted no and issued dissents, citing concerns the agency’s efforts would undermine pending privacy legislation.