HumenhukCIPP/US Study Guide
Chapter 5: Federal and State Regulators and Enforcement of Privacy Law

The Future of FTC Enforcement

Reviewed by Victor Humenhuk. Published . Reviewed .

FTC priorities track technology: a 2023 Office of Technology, 2022 proposed commercial surveillance rules (under Magnuson-Moss), a 2020 data portability workshop, 2022 health app advice, a 2022 dark patterns report, and a broadened Section 5 competition vision.

How this supports CIPP/US study

Use this lesson to connect a privacy programme decision with the relevant regulator, duty or enforcement route. Continue with the CIPP/US exam questions.

  • 2021 Executive Order 14036 urged the FTC to address unfair data collection and surveillance
  • 2022 proposed commercial surveillance rules, begun under Magnuson-Moss (uncertain whether they will be enacted)
  • 2020 workshop on data portability - balancing competition/user control against privacy and security
  • 2022 advice for health app developers (data minimization, authentication, security by design)
  • 2022 staff report on dark patterns - disguised ads, hard-to-cancel charges, hidden terms/fees, tricking data sharing
  • 2022 broadened Section 5 vision on unfair methods of competition - focuses on a tendency to harm competition without a separate showing of market power
  • 2023 creation of the FTC Office of Technology
Section 5 competition twist

The 2022 policy statement says Section 5 unfair-methods-of-competition analysis does not require a separate showing of market power or market definition when evidence shows a tendency toward anticompetitive effects - unlike virtually all other antitrust statutes.

Key terms - quick answers

What is “Commercial surveillance”?
Defined in the FTC's 2022 proposed rules as the collection, aggregation, analysis, retention, transfer, or monetization of commercial data and its direct derivatives.
What is “Data portability”?
The ability of individuals to obtain and reuse their personal data across different services, the subject of a 2020 FTC workshop.
What is “Dark patterns”?
Sophisticated design practices that trick or manipulate consumers into buying or giving up personal information, examined in the FTC's 2022 staff report.
What is “Office of Technology”?
An FTC office created in 2023 to strengthen the agency's focus on emerging technology.

Sources and study method

This independent lesson uses active recall, spaced retrieval and scenario practice. Read the full study method.