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Andrew Smith

Andrew Smith advises clients on retail financial services, data protection, advertising and consumer protection, technology, credit reporting, and e-commerce issues. He assists banks, non-bank lenders, technology companies, and their vendors with regulatory compliance, litigation, and transactional matters.

Prior to re-joining the firm, Andrew served as Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), where he was focused on investigations and enforcement of privacy, data security, financial services, and marketing laws and regulations across a broad range of areas, including fair lending, technology platforms, digital advertising, payments, telemarketing, lead generation, affiliate marketing, consumer reporting, and small business financing. He also oversaw the Bureau’s extensive rulemaking and workshop proceedings, including on endorsement guides, security of financial data, subscription marketing, contact lenses, and children’s privacy. Additionally, he led the FTC’s COVID-19 pandemic-related enforcement and consumer education efforts. In a previous role as Assistant to the Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection at the FTC, Andrew led a team of professionals to develop and draft ten rules and six studies under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

Andrew represents clients before federal and state agencies—particularly the FTC and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)—in law enforcement and rulemaking proceedings. He regularly advises companies on the requirements of the GLBA, FCRA, DPPA, ECOA, FDCPA, TCPA and TSR, FTC Act, Dodd-Frank Act, and analogous state laws, including state insurance privacy laws and security breach notification requirements.

On Thursday, March 7, 2024, the U.S. Senate confirmed two nominees for the open seats on the Federal Trade Commission:  Andrew N. Ferguson, former solicitor general of the Commonwealth of Virginia; and Melissa Holyoak, former solicitor general with the Utah Attorney General’s Office.  With this confirmation of two new Republican Commissioners, the FTC is one step closer to a full slate of five bipartisan Commissioners.  The Senate also re-confirmed Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter for a second term.  President Biden had nominated Ferguson and Holyoak on July 11, 2023, and renominated Slaughter on February 13, 2023. Continue Reading FTC Returns to Bipartisan Commission with Confirmation of Two New Republican Commissioners

On June 23, Congressman Patrick McHenry released a discussion draft of new legislation to modernize federal financial data privacy law. The draft legislation would amend and build on the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (“GLBA”). The draft includes notable provisions on consumer rights, data minimization, and disclosures. It also updates the definition of

Continue Reading Congressman McHenry Releases Discussion Draft of Financial Data Privacy Bill

Today, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it anticipates proposing a privacy rulemaking this month, with comments closing in August.  This announcement follows the agency’s statement in December that it planned to begin a rulemaking to “curb lax security practices, limit privacy abuses, and ensure that algorithmic decision-making does

Continue Reading FTC Announces Plans to Begin Privacy Rulemaking In June