FTC's Ohlhausen: Agency Should Focus on Real Harms

Republican Federal Trade Commission member Maureen Ohlhausen, who is reportedly President Donald Trump's choice as interim FTC chair, said she has not met with the President but says the FTC should focus its energies on real harms, rather than speculative harms. She also says she has taken a page out of Trump's Art of the Deal for how to proceed. She was speaking at the State of the Net annual conference, though she did not confirm her status as acting chair. Current FTC chair Edith Ramirez is leaving Feb 10, which will leave only two commissioners, Ohlausen and Democrat Terrell McSweeny. Ohlhausen said that part of focusing on real harms is through case selection, as well as not sending the wrong signals to the market about companies that did not get it "quite right" while trying to innovate. If you make a privacy promise, keep it, and take "reasonable steps" to protect privacy, she said.