FTC Creates New Task Force Focused On Tech Markets

We know we're a little late on this post but between our conference (check out our Fabulous Takeaways) and dealing with all the publicity CARU has had after its Musical.ly referral to the FTC resulted in the highest fine in COPPA history, we've been a little busy.

Still wanted to highlight that the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Competition (FTC) recently announced the creation of the Technology Task Force. The FTC has announced this task force will be “dedicated to monitoring competition in U.S. technology markets, investigating any potential anti-competitive conduct in those markets, and taking enforcement actions when warranted.”

As the technology boom continues to grow and evolve through the 21^st Century, the FTC has found it increasingly important to monitor the technology markets. The hope is by centralizing attention to the technology markets, the new task force will make it easier to monitor companies and ensure they are following all antitrust laws.

This significant step shows that there are concerns regarding the protection of personal information and that technology companies “may be hurting competition and intentionally stifling the free exchange of ideas on their platforms.” The new task force shows the FTC is listening to the requests of almost one dozen state attorneys general who aggressively asked the FTC to “enforce the antitrust law at the ‘intersection between privacy, big data, and competition.” Although there have not been any cases that have addressed these issues to date, some believe that the creation of the Technology Task Force signals that enforcement of these antitrust regulations are on the way.

To learn more about this topic, check out the FTC press release or this Vic Article about What the new FTC task force means for data aggregators.

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