FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez chats about privacy, security and why she’s at CES

A Q&A with Federal Trade Commission Chairwoman Edith Ramirez.

The FTC is the nation's most prominent consumer protection and privacy watchdog. As technology has become more integrated into our lives, the agency has taken a bigger role in policing tech. It increasingly cracks down on companies that have deceptive or unfair online security and privacy practices.We caught up with FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez ahead of the annual tech show's official launch to talk about her priorities headed into CES and her advice on how companies and consumers should think about privacy and security issues when it comes to tech.

When asked, "What are the FTC's top reasons for coming to CES?", Chairwoman Ramirez said, "I think it's really two-fold. The first is that we're really interested in seeing how technology impacts consumers. Part of our mission is to protect consumers both in the digital world as well as in the brick-and-mortar world, and by coming to CES we ensure that we can see what the next generation of products will be. It's important for us to stay on top of what companies are doing when it comes to technology and also to evaluate what the implications are for consumers...Another reason is that it gives us an opportunity to engage with companies directly, and talk about the issues that we see as being important -- to highlight the importance of protecting consumer privacy, protecting information, data security. So it allows us both to stay on top of emerging trends and also to convey our important messages to companies themselves."