FTC Could Gain Enforcement Power Over Internet

Hugh Pickens writes "The Washington Post reports that under a little-known provision in financial overhaul legislation before Congress the Federal Trade Commission could become a more powerful watchdog for Internet users with the power to to issue rules on a fast track and impose civil penalties on companies that hurt consumers. 'If we had a deterrent, a bigger stick to fine malefactors, that would be helpful,' says FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz, who has argued in favor of bolstering his agency's enforcement ability. This power would stand in stark contrast to a besieged FCC, whose ability to oversee broadband providers has been cast into doubt after a federal court ruled last month that the agency lacked the ability to punish Comcast for violating open-Internet guidelines. The provision to strengthen the FTC is in the regulatory overhaul legislation passed by the House, and although it is absent from the legislation before the Senate, some observers expect the measure to be included when the House and Senate versions are combined."

Comments

Re:Uh...

[T Murphy]

I'm no scholar on what agency does what, but the article mentions privacy issues, which sounds more like FTC than FCC. I can understand the FCC being concerned about how ISPs handle traffic, but not what the actual content is. It makes perfect sense for the FTC to be concerned about exactly what information is being collected and how it is used. Of course, traffic shaping and net neutrality can be seen as affecting trade and consumers, so that may fall under FTC jurisdiction too. Although I would think it best for the FTC and FCC to collaborate where their interests overlap, overall I think FTC is more relevant with most internet-related issues that get brought up on slashdot.

That said, someone better informed could probably be much more insightful and probably poke a few holes in what I'm saying.

The FTC is less of a threat than the FCC

[voss]

The FTC doesnt give a crap about censoring content only regulating anti-fraud and commercial transactions. The FTC could go after internet companies
under anti-trust and anti-competitive practices laws.