In an Age of Digital Identity, FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz Calls for Privacy by Design

Federal Trade Commission Chairman Jon Leibowitz is no newcomer to Washington. He has been at the FTC since 2004, dealing with antitrust issues at a national level. But his job looks much different today than it did eight years ago.

Facebook and Google have grown into juggernauts of the Internet -- Facebook holds your years of status updates, location data and photos; Google has your trove of Google account data, including years of search queries. They’re two of a few Silicon Valley giants who have singularly formed the concept of identity in the digital age. And it’s Leibowitz’s job to make sure these big boys are playing by the rules. Leibowitz discussed a few of his organization’s stances on privacy, market competition and other topics in conversation with Walt Mossberg. There’s the good news: Leibowitz says that inside the Beltway, issues surrounding privacy aren’t divided between the red and the blue. “The FTC is about as bipartisan as you can get,” he said. “It happens to be a small oasis of bipartisanship in Washington.”