Biden Nominates Privacy Advocate as FTC Commissioner

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] U.S. President Joe Biden has announced plans for additional appointments to agencies including the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

On the 13th (local time), according to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and others, President Biden plans to nominate Alvaro Bedoya, a strong advocate known as a 'hawk' on privacy protection, as a new FTC commissioner.

Born in Peru and naturalized in the U.S., Bedoya currently serves as the director of Georgetown University's Law Center 'Privacy & Technology Center' and has built academic achievements in surveillance technologies including facial recognition.

He will serve as one of the five FTC commissioners, succeeding Rohit Chopra, the previous director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), who is currently undergoing confirmation procedures.

CNBC evaluated, "Bedoya's participation in the FTC, led by antitrust expert Chair Lina Khan, will be an important personnel reinforcement."

President Biden plans to nominate Rostin Behnam, the current acting CFTC chairman, as the CFTC chairman. For the two vacant CFTC commissioner positions, he is expected to nominate Christine Johnson, a law professor at Emory University, and Goldsmith Christie Romero, who served as a special inspector for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) during the Barack Obama administration.

WSJ explained, "If they are confirmed by Congress, the CFTC will have a 3-to-1 Democratic majority."

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