Recent Posts

FTC Issues Stealth Regulations over Internet of Things

January 27, 2015

WASHINGTON D.C. — Today, the FTC released a report recommending “best practices” around privacy and data security for the “Internet of Things” — connected smart...


Maureen Ohlhausen Objects to FTC’s Internet of Things Report

January 27, 2015

Commissioner Ohlhausen voted to approve issuance of the staff report, but objected to the report’s call for new baseline privacy legislation: I do not support...


Josh Wright Blasts FTC’s Internet of Things Report

January 26, 2015

Commissioner Wright has objected before that the FTC doesn’t take cost-benefit analysis seriously. He levels much the same criticism at the FTC’s new Internet of...


The FTC Used to Care About Tradeoffs

January 26, 2015

The FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection doesn’t seem to care much for cost-benefit analysis. But it’s worth remembering that the idea (much cherished by Carter-era...


Serious Cost-Benefit Analysis on Privacy

January 26, 2015

Cost-benefit analysis is supposed to be at the heart of the FTC’s unfairness powers. But the FTC doesn’t really bother with CBA in privacy cases,...


How Long Should Americans Wait for Clarity on Digital Privacy?

January 14, 2015

President Obama doesn’t want to talk about surveillance—and is once again trying to change the subject to regulating the companies that have made the Internet...