FTC Act Section 13(b) doesn’t authorize the agency to seek equitable monetary relief like restitution or disgorgement, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously Thursday in AMG Capital Management v. FTC (19-508). (See our news bulletin here.)
Karl Herchenroeder
Karl Herchenroeder, Associate Editor, is a technology policy journalist for publications including Communications Daily. Born in Rockville, Maryland, he joined the Warren Communications News staff in 2018. He began his journalism career in 2012 at the Aspen Times in Aspen, Colorado, where he covered city government. After that, he covered the nuclear industry for ExchangeMonitor in Washington. You can follow Herchenroeder on Twitter: @karlherk
Apple and Google unfairly leverage their dominance over the app store market and engage in intimidation, representatives from Spotify, Match and competing companies told the Senate Antitrust Subcommittee Wednesday. Chairwoman Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and ranking member Mike Lee, R-Utah, detailed how the two companies’ unprecedented power lets them make arbitrary decisions that determine users and competitors' fate.
FTC Act Section 13(b) doesn’t authorize the agency to “seek, or a court to award, equitable monetary relief such as restitution or disgorgement,” the Supreme Court ruled unanimously Thursday in AMG Capital Management v. FTC (19-508). The agency can seek restitution for consumers under sections 5 and 19, said the opinion delivered by Justice Stephen Breyer. “If the Commission believes that authority too cumbersome or otherwise inadequate, it is, of course, free to ask Congress to grant it further remedial authority,” the court wrote.
The Senate Commerce Committee expects to vote on advancing Lina Khan’s nomination to the FTC in a “few weeks,” Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., told us Wednesday after Khan’s confirmation hearing (see 2103290061). Republicans we interviewed remain neutral. And Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., had worries.
Congress needs to protect FTC Act Section 13(b) authority, all four current commissioners told the Senate Commerce Committee Tuesday. Acting Chairwoman Rebecca Kelly Slaughter asked not to wait for a Supreme Court decision (see 2104190059). Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., said he’s open to engaging in bipartisan legislative discussions with committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash.
Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., is exploring legislation to protect FTC Section 13(b) authority if the agency gets an adverse decision from the Supreme Court in AMG Capital Management v. FTC (see 2102040049), she told us last week. Cantwell wants to discuss the agency’s authority Tuesday when the commission testifies before her committee (see 2104140046). Section 13(b) authority allows the agency to seek an injunction against FTC Act violations and obtain restitution for consumers simultaneously.
Prompt private-sector reporting about cyber incidents is critical to allowing the U.S. to stay ahead of attacks like SolarWinds, FBI Director Christopher Wray told the Senate Intelligence Committee Wednesday in response to a legislative proposal from Chairman Mark Warner, D-Va., and Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and John Cornyn, R-Texas (see 2103040066).
Expect a committee markup on the Endless Frontier Act in the coming weeks, Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., told reporters Tuesday. He said he’s negotiating with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., lead sponsor of S-3832, after receiving text from the White House. The bill is meant to increase domestic semiconductor manufacturing and strengthen U.S. competitiveness with China. Schumer said he wants a vote this month, with the bill wrapped into an infrastructure package.
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ views on Communications Decency Act Section 230 contradict his prior positions and threaten free speech, conservative and libertarian tech observers said in interviews. The Supreme Court dismissed a lawsuit last week claiming President Donald Trump violated the First Amendment in 2017 when he blocked users from his Twitter account (see 2003230060). The high court remanded the case to the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals with instructions to dismiss as moot (20-197) because the former president is no longer in office.
U.S. officials sent the European Commission an initial offer to replace the Privacy Shield and address concerns in the Schrems II decision, industry officials and advocates told us (see 2103250023). An initial U.S. offer was sent a few weeks ago, but it “wasn’t as strong" as the European Commission hoped, said Gabriela Zanfir-Fortuna, a former adviser to the European Data Protection Supervisor in Brussels. Now senior counsel at the Future of Privacy Forum, Zanfir-Fortuna advised in the development of the first Privacy Shield agreement and the general data protection regulation.