Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

On Tuesday, Joseph Simons was sworn in as the new Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission.  The five-member Commission will soon be at full strength, as Simons is set to be joined by four other new FTC Commissioners, each of which were confirmed for seven-year terms by the Senate on April 26: Democrats Rebecca Kelly Slaughter and Rohit Chopra, and Republicans Noah Phillips and Christine Wilson.  Slaughter, Chopra, and Phillips are each expected to be sworn in this week, although Wilson will not take office until the Senate confirms Commissioner Ohlhausen’s nomination as a judge on the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.

The new Commissioners, with the exception of Slaughter, have backgrounds focusing more on competition and antitrust matters, as opposed to privacy and consumer protection.  As such, we will have to wait and see as to their views on privacy issues, and the FTC’s resulting priorities.
Continue Reading Changes Are Underway at the FTC As New Commissioners Are Sworn In

On March 2, 2016, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) entered into a consent order with online payment systems operator Dwolla, Inc., based on allegations that Dwolla deceived consumers about its data security practices and the safety of its online payment system. The CFPB brought this action under its authority
Continue Reading CFPB Issues $100,000 Fine in First-Ever Data Security Enforcement Action