To Protect Consumers, Watch the Finance Algorithms

The Biden administration is planning to install Rohit Chopra, currently a member of the Federal Trade Commission, as head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. I think he’s a great choice, and I have a piece of advice: Develop new and better ways to combat predatory finance, before it does too much damage.

Chopra has ample progressive cred. He helped Elizabeth Warren set up the CFPB in 2011, before the Trump administration started to dismantle it. At the FTC, he was at the vanguard of efforts to combat the misuse of people’s personal data. In one recent case that I followed, he supported requiring a facial-recognition company to delete an algorithm that it had trained on improperly obtained photos and personal information — and wanted to impose a fine that would deter similar transgressions. So I believe him when he says he is serious about protecting consumers.