New privacy regulations in Europe and California, combined with well-publicized data breaches, are fueling an intense debate about the U.S. approach to consumer privacy. The ongoing Federal Trade Commission hearings on Competition and Consumer Protection in the 21st Century prominently feature privacy. The Department of Commerce is engaged in a proceeding to develop privacy policy for the Administration. Companies and privacy advocates are increasingly united in favor of some form of federal privacy legislation. Despite disagreement on the details, the U.S. seems closer to a federal privacy law than it has been for a long time.

To discuss these issues, TPI has assembled a group of experts for a lunch panel on the topic, “Privacy: The Way Forward.” The panel will address questions related to the federal government’s role, including:

Do the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and perhaps other state legislation mean that federal legislation is needed?
If so, what should it contain? Should it preempt the states?
Has the current FTC ex post enforcement approach based on actual harms been successful? Should the U.S. move to an ex ante regulatory approach similar to the GDPR and CCPA?
What should the respective roles of the Administration, Congress, and the FTC be?
Panel participants include:

Roslyn Layton, Visiting Scholar, American Enterprise Institute
Maureen Ohlhausen, Partner, Baker Botts LLP and former Commissioner and Acting Chairwoman, Federal Trade Commission
Alan Raul, Founder and Leader, Sidley Austin Privacy and Data Security, and Information Law practice
Gail Slater, Special Assistant to the President for Tech, Telecom, and Cyber Policy, White House National Economic Council
Thomas Lenard (moderator), Senior Fellow and President Emertius, Technology Policy Institute

Video of this event is available here, also check out past events on our YouTube channel.