Congress mocks Facebook and the FTC

Republican and democratic Lawmakers are furious to learn that the Federal Trade Commission is ready to settle with Facebook for widespread violations of privacy for only $ 5 billion. But that does not mean that an acceptable bipartisan solution is currently floating around the Capitol's marble halls.

"The terrible message that this tapping has wrung is that the enforcement of privacy protection is a hollow paper tiger in our country," said Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut) at WIRED on Wednesday . "It has to be structural and behavioral and not just monetary, and that money is way too low."

Blumenthal is badociated with Senators Josh Hawley (R-Missouri) and Ed Markey (D-Mbadachusetts) to draft a very firm exploratory letter to the FTC earlier this week after the the Wall Street newspaper first reported that the commission had voted, according to the parties, from three Republicans to two Democrats, to approve the Facebook settlement.

"It is clear that a fine of $ 5 billion is far from a monetary figure that would change the incentives and behavior of Facebook and its peers," Senators told the five FTC commissioners. "The public expects the Commission to put consumers first and take all the necessary steps to address Facebook's privacy concerns. We are very disappointed to learn that the Commission has apparently failed to reach a strong bipartite agreement, sending the wrong message to tech companies. "

Hawley – a first-year Republican who turned heads with his aggressive calls to increase regulation on advanced technologies – was even more direct in person.

"It's a not very serious number. I think that just communicates a lack of seriousness on the part of the FTC, "Hawley told WIRED as he prepared to vote in the Senate. "If the reports specify that the agreement will not contain any restrictions on the collection of user data and sharing with third parties, then how was the consent decree good? Why do we even have it?

But even the legislators who are working the hardest to lobby the FTC on Facebook are divided into parties on how Congress should regulate technology companies. The three senators want new modern laws and regulations to govern companies like Facebook. But Blumenthal and Markey are more focused on exceeding confidentiality constraints that most conservatives do not like. Meanwhile, Hawley's approach is also illuminated by claims that tech companies are censoring the Conservatives – a charge by many Republicans and that tech companies have repeatedly denied.

But for this specific privacy issue with Facebook and the FTC, Hawley's voice is almost the most progressive of the room. Many Democrats have called for strengthening the powers of the FTC, but Hawley is so frustrated by what he sees as a low number that lacks teeth. It is working openly to deprive the Commission of its current role as judge in these areas. types of cases.

"I'm worried, I'm losing faith in their ability to enforce the law, and I'm not losing in the seriousness with which they approach this task. Maybe it's not the right agency, "Hawley said. "It may just be that they are not structured for that – they are better structured to do surveillance rather than enforcing it that way. So we may need to make some changes that would give the real power of control to an organization better placed to do that. "

Hawley does not say exactly which branch of the federal government could, according to him, take over from the FTC, although he congratulated the Ministry of Justice for "his seriousness in the use of the jurisdiction of which he has. "

Changing the power of regulation is not enough for many Democrats, especially those who call for stronger oversight. This is part of the reason why Blumenthal is part of the group of lawmakers who are demanding a new law – or laws – to govern Silicon Valley companies that they say play fast with the data of their users.

"I think we need stronger protection of privacy in legislation. We can pbad laws, "said Blumenthal. "You need legislation that will toughen and strengthen enforcement, as well as standards."

Still other legislators go further.

"It's more than just legislation. I think we need to dissociate Facebook and the other big tech giants, "said Senator Elizabeth Warren (Mbadachusetts) to WIRED as she rushed into her office, walking beside the trams under the Capitol. The presidential candidate said technology monopolies were a key issue at the beginning of her campaign. "I believe in competition and we do not have competitive markets here. I am also worried about privacy violations of Facebook by people for their own profit. "

And Warren does not say words when it comes to the FTC.

"I think it can not even be called a slap. It's a way to let Facebook move forward without any legal liability, "Warren said. "This proves once again that there is no serious regulation on any of the most powerful companies in the world."

Yet these problems have been raging around Capitol Hill for over a decade, but nothing has happened. And many legislators contacted by WIRED who sit on the Trade Committee who is competent for these issues did not even seem to be aware of the terms of the FTC settlement with Facebook. Others do not seem in a hurry to change the status quo.

"I think there will obviously be many more investigations to be conducted, many more potential problems that arise," said Senator Cory Gardner (R-Colorado), a member of the Trade Committee, to WIRED while he was rushing into the basement of the Capitol. "I do not think this is the last case or the last to be settled on concerns, violations or irregularities."

And numerous investigations and prosecutions are ongoing on Facebook, including a criminal investigation in New York, a lawsuit by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and even a purported investigation by the SEC, to name just one. some on American soil.

Mr. Markey believes that lawmakers will be forced to spit their fangs if the FTC complies with this rule because he said that the consequences of allowing Facebook to circumvent federal regulations would affect Silicon Valley. And he says that the FTC – with Congress – can not allow this message to ring across the valley.

"I think it's saying that if you break the privacy of Americans, the company will only have to pay the equivalent of a private parking ticket," said Markey. "Despite the infinitely greater benefits they have achieved by compromising this privacy, it is a message to other companies that makes it clear to them that they can really benefit from the privacy breach because the penalty that they pay only a small fraction of the profits they have been able to make. Facebook has announced a net profit of more than $ 22 billion in the previous year.

While lawmakers from all ideological backgrounds have been angry since the news of Cambridge Analytica more than a year ago, Congress continues to question the details of areas in which both parties seem to much of the agreement. Despite calls from more and more bipartisans for a federal law on the protection of privacy, this effort has not succeeded. Even lawmakers most sensitive to technical problems remain divided on the opportunity to strip the FTC of energy or pump the steroids and liquidity agency. For many observers, the Congress and all its leaders seem less prepared to deal with these problems. While Silicon Valley continues to dramatically shape the future of the country, it seems more than ever that this Congress lives in the past.

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