Consumer advocates, industry representatives and a former FTC investigator will address proposals for a federal privacy law that either supersedes state laws or moves beyond them when they testify Wednesday before the Senate Privacy Subcommittee (see 2507240037).
FTC Privacy Enforcement
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is the primary enforcer of privacy laws in the U.S., using consent decrees, lawsuits and rulemaking to address unfair or deceptive data practices. The agency’s actions influence how companies design privacy programs, handle consumer data and respond to complaints. This page highlights major cases, policy updates, and enforcement patterns at the FTC that shape the U.S. privacy landscape.
States should amend comprehensive privacy laws to remove loopholes for consumer reporting agencies (CRAs), the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) said in a white paper released Tuesday.
Upholding the firing of FTC Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter “destroys the independence” of the agency and hinders its ability to conduct its mission, U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan ruled in a filing Thursday.
A federal court should continue blocking FTC Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter from returning to the commission because the “balance of harms” favors the Trump administration, DOJ argued Wednesday in a reply brief.
House Democrats on Wednesday filed legislation that would ban AI companies from using consumers’ personal data to set prices or wages, as expected (see 2507160067).
The White House on Wednesday released its AI Action Plan, directing federal agencies to potentially withhold discretionary funding from states with AI regulations that “hinder” innovation. California's privacy agency and legislators from two other states rebuked the proposal.
A federal appeals court on Monday granted the Trump administration’s request for an emergency stay, blocking terminated FTC Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter from returning to work (see 2507180039).
Healthline apparently violated “the gossip test for sensitive data” when it shared with advertisers titles of articles that individual users were reading, which effectively suggested they had certain medical diagnoses, Cobun Zweifel-Keegan, IAPP managing director for Washington, D.C., posted on the privacy association’s website Friday.
The public has until Aug. 19 to comment on a petition asking the FTC to vacate or modify an order against a “stalkerware” app, the agency said Friday.
President Donald Trump’s firing of FTC Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter violated the FTC Act’s removal protections, a federal judge ruled Thursday, reinstating Slaughter at the agency. The White House said it will appeal.