By Margaret Harding McGill / Axios / September 13, 2021
President Biden will nominate Georgetown University law professor Alvaro Bedoya to be a Democratic commissioner at the Federal Trade Commission, people familiar with the matter told Axios.
Why it matters: Bedoya, founding director of the Center on Privacy & Technology at Georgetown, will bring a bevy of experience on privacy issues to the FTC’s work on tech.
Between the lines: If confirmed, Bedoya will solidify the Democratic majority at the FTC with current commissioner Rohit Chopra set to leave the agency as Biden’s nominee to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
- Bedoya previously was chief counsel of the Senate Judiciary privacy subcommittee and worked on issues including mobile location data and facial recognition.
The big picture: FTC chair Lina Khan brought expertise on Big Tech antitrust, and Bedoya would bring similar expertise on tech privacy.