Serious implications that may arise from the reassignment of online privacy regulation from FTC to FCC

The FCC/FTC battle over authority on privacy issues

As a result of the FCC’s decision to classify broadband under Title II of the Communications Act, the regulation of online privacy has been moved from the FTC to the FCC. 

While this may appear to be a minor bureaucratic reassignment, it weakens protections for America’s consumers, deprives them of the FTC’s 20 years of expertise on the privacy beat, and divests consumers of the ability to get remuneration when actors are charged with wrongdoing. 

The two agencies are carving out their respective turf in an ecosystem where there will inevitably be overlaps as well as holes, but it does not bode well for industry and consumers, both of which want the digital experience to be seamless. From the Article 1 perspective, Congress should be concerned with how privacy is regulated and the role of regulatory agencies. That this power of enforcement can shift with a mere 3-2 vote by the FCC demonstrates the precarious nature of partisan politics.

Source 

TechPolicy Daily November 19, 2015