Scott Delacourt Discusses FTC’s Collaboration With FCC on Consumer Protection Issues

November 19, 2015

Scott D. Delacourt, chair of Wiley Rein’s FTC Practice, was quoted in a November 19 Law360 article about the Federal Trade Commission’s agreement with the Federal Communications Commission to collaborate on consumer protection issues.

This week’s memorandum of understanding signals the agencies’ recognition of their growing overlap on issues such as data security and privacy, according to the article. The memorandum “doesn’t make any concession to one agency taking the lead and the other stepping back on particular matters,” Mr. Delacourt said. “It’s a commitment not to limit each other so they can both go forward and exercise authority even on the same matter.”

The agreement will prevent inconsistent or conflicting public statements on the same matter, but might not address certain issues that industry faces when it comes to enforcement from the agencies, he said.

“If you’re being investigated, you would like to deal with one regulator and have clear standards,” Mr. Delacourt said. “It’s a difficult problem to be investigated by multiple regulators using different standards.”

The article can be found here.