Anna-Maria Kovacs: “The Flip Side: Digging In to Trump’s FTC Pick on Net Neutrality, Privacy” (Wireless Week)

Wireless Week

In her speech to the ABA 2017 Consumer Protection Conference, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Acting Chairman Maureen Ohlhausen summarized her view of the FTC’s mission: “We are seeking to ensure that consumers are better off.” She believes that consumers are best served by competitive markets, rather than pre-emptive regulation. She relies on a combination of antitrust oversight and vigilant enforcement to protect consumers from harm. The hallmark of Ohlhausen’s philosophy is the recognition that regulatory and enforcement actions have costs as well as benefits. Essentially, regulators’ actions create risks for companies. If these actions are well-calibrated, those risks disincent behaviors that harm consumers. If they are excessive, they disincent experimentation and innovation that may be beneficial to consumers.