Republicans Diss Dual Privacy Regime

In a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler dated Oct. 9, Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), vice chair of the House Commerce Committee, joined by a baker's dozen Republicans including Communications Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR), said the FCC's potential entry into the privacy regulation space was "troubling" for a number of reasons:

1. The FTC has been the sole Internet privacy regulator.
2. The Title II reclassification was done unilaterally. They said the FCC's "jurisdictional appetite" was problematic.
3. The FCC does not have the technical expertise to regulate privacy, they argue, citing FTC Commissioner Joshua Wright's testimony to Congress that the FCC's assumption of privacy oversight would create "obstacles to protecting consumers."