The FTC should match tech company innovation with oversight innovation

The Nov 27 Senate hearing on the activities of the Federal Trade Commission highlighted the shortcomings of applying industrial-era thinking to internet-era challenges. The new digital reality calls for both expansive regulatory oversight as well as legislative action. FTC Chairman Joseph Simons' constrained description of the FTC’s authority highlights the need for creative new responses the the ongoing collision between conservative dogma and the unconstrained activities of Big Tech. A forward-looking FTC could advance this debate by recognizing the convergence of unfair acts with uncompetitive behavior. Shedding its industrial interpretations could provide some short-term amelioration of current issues. Most importantly, it could draw a roadmap laying out the areas that need new legal authority. Protecting consumers and competition in the digital age requires conforming responsibilities established in the industrial era with the new realities established by information technology. The FTC needs to be as innovative in oversight as the companies are in technology.