FTC OKs Staff Priority Areas 3-2, Including Tech Issues

FTC commissioners OK'd along party lines a recommendation for staff to focus on tech and several other areas over a decade, the agency announced about 5 p.m. EDT Tuesday. The eight points of focus include "Acts or Practices Affecting Children," "Bias in Algorithms and Biometrics," "Deceptive and Manipulative Conduct on the Internet," "Repair Restrictions" and "Abuse of Intellectual Property."

“These resolutions enable the FTC to take swift action against a whole host of illegal conduct in important areas of concern to the Commission,” said Competition Bureau acting Director Holly Vedova. The joint recommendations came from that bureau and the Consumer Protection Bureau.

Chair Lina Khan and Commissioner Rohit Chopra and Rebecca Kelly Slaughter voted yes; they are the agency's Democrats. Republican Commissioners Noah Phillips and Christine Wilson voted no. More on their statements is to come in this evening's Communications Daily. All five members agreed to make the recommendations public.

Tech associations didn't immediately comment.