Biden Picks Rosenworcel for FCC Acting Chair; Slaughter Heads FTC for Now
President Joe Biden named Jessica Rosenworcel as acting FCC chair Thursday (see 2101210053), and Rebecca Kelly Slaughter as acting FTC chair (see 2101210048). The Commerce Department said Evelyn Remaley, head of NTIA’s Office of Policy Analysis and Development, will temporarily lead that agency.
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Rosenworcel thanked Biden “for the opportunity to lead an agency with such a vital mission and talented staff. It is a privilege to serve the American people and work on their behalf to expand the reach of communications opportunity in the digital age.” She later tweeted: “Now more than ever we need to expand the reach of communications opportunity for all of us.” Rosenworcel will lead an FCC split 2-2 by political party. Its next meeting is Feb. 17, which means any items need to circulate for a vote Wednesday.
Slaughter will be the FTC’s only Democrat. She tweeted she’s confident “we'll be able to rise to the formidable challenges facing our markets & the American people.” Commissioner Rohit Chopra is expected to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Slaughter was chief counsel to now Senate Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York before joining the FTC.
Biden’s decision to designate Rosenworcel as acting chair is fueling chatter about whether he’s eyeing another contender to lead the FCC permanently. Rosenworcel is seen as the front-runner. Commissioner Geoffrey Starks and others are considered contenders (see 2012310023). Some Congressional Black Caucus members and civil rights groups publicly back Starks.
Lobbyists noted Starks doesn’t have unanimous CBC support. More than 30 House Democrats, including some senior-ranking members and some belonging to the CBC and Congressional Hispanic Caucus, wrote Biden just before Christmas to back Rosenworcel. Among the congressional Democrats who haven’t stated a preference: House Majority Whip James Clyburn of South Carolina, Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone of New Jersey and Communications Subcommittee Chairman Mike Doyle of Pennsylvania.
Rosenworcel “has been a passionate advocate for bringing the benefits of broadband to all Americans -- particularly our children,” Starks said. “Her designation comes at a critical juncture for the Commission, as COVID-19 has made bold action to end internet inequality more vital than ever.”
“While we did not always agree on policy matters, I always valued our shared commitment to public service,” Pai tweeted about Rosenworcel.
Many communications groups hailed or acknowledged Rosenworcel’s appointment. They include ACA Connects, APCO, AT&T, Charter, Comcast, the Competitive Carriers Association, Connect Americans Now, Free State Foundation, Free Press, Incompas, NAB, NATE, Public Knowledge, USTelecom, Verizon, Wireless Infrastructure Association and Wireless ISP Association.
Consumer advocates welcomed Slaughter’s appointment in interviews. They cited her 2019 dissent against the FTC’s $5 billion privacy settlement with Facebook (see 1907240042) among other parts of her track record. “She’s been a great advocate for consumers and for competition,” said Public Knowledge Competition Policy Director Charlotte Slaiman, citing her Facebook dissent. The FTC’s remedy in the settlement -- the fine and the changes to business practices -- was “really inefficient,” which Slaughter rightly pointed out, she said.
“She has been outspoken about the need for stronger enforcement,” said Common Cause Media and Democracy Program Director Yosef Getachew. Free Press Senior Policy Counsel Gaurav Laroia said Slaughter's track record shows she’s good at “working with the other side on solutions but isn’t afraid of pushing aggressively in places where the agency should push,” Laroia added: She’s been rightly skeptical about the FTC’s settlements deterring future bad behavior.
Slaughter is in the running, alongside others, to become full chair, experts said. The list includes ex-Competition Bureau Director Debbie Feinstein, now at Arnold & Porter; former DOJ Deputy Assistant Attorney General Fiona Scott Morton, now a Yale economist; Columbia Law School professor Tim Wu; former FTC and House Judiciary Committee staffer Lina Khan, now associate professor at Columbia Law School; and ex-Commissioner Terrell McSweeny, now at Covington & Burling. They could also be in contention for the seat vacated by Chopra.
“I know that they’re out there,” said Laroia of the candidates. “I’d like to see someone who takes these harms seriously and is as committed to using the full authority of the FTC to address them, rather than the relatively timid actions the FTC has taken in the past couple decades.”
“That’s a great list,” said Slaiman. Ideally, the agency under Biden will be more “aggressive” with enforcement while scrutinizing the data economy and how platforms are using data in deceptive ways, said Getachew: The Trump administration didn’t do enough to examine modern commercial data practices or data breaches generally.