NAI Statement on Proposal to Increase FTC Funding by $1 Billion and Create a Privacy Bureau

WASHINGTON, DC (September 27, 2021) – The following statement by NAI President and CEO Leigh Freund regards the congressional proposal to create a new FTC bureau for privacy and increase funding by $1 billion over ten years as part of a budget reconciliation package:

“The U.S. needs both a strong privacy regulator and a rational, comprehensive national consumer privacy law. The FTC is a capable law enforcement and regulatory agency, and it needs additional resources. But redrawing the org chart and adding funding for the FTC, without establishing a national privacy framework, will still leave U.S. consumers and businesses subject to a jumble of incompatible state and international laws. It also is likely to lead to a long, drawn-out, unpredictable FTC rulemaking, subject to the political whims of each new administration. To adequately protect consumers while clarifying the rules for businesses, the appropriate step by Congress is to bolster the role and resources of the FTC as part of a national privacy framework.

The NAI welcomes the opportunity to partner with the FTC on a robust privacy enforcement framework that incorporates industry self-regulatory programs such as the NAI Code of Conduct.”

MEDIA CONTACT:
Ben Ogden-Lord
media@networkadvertising.org
202-470-5367