Senate Approves Bedoya FTC Nomination
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Senate voted today to approve the nomination of Alvaro Bedoya as a commissioner on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Commissioner Bedoya is an experienced consumer advocate, public servant, academic, and digital privacy expert. He was originally nominated to the FTC in Sept. 2021, but confirmation was unduly delayed due to Republican opposition ostensibly centered on his past social media posts.
Bedoya’s confirmation breaks the 2-2 deadlock between Republican and Democratic commissioners at the FTC. The independent agency is largely bound by the law to require a majority vote by commissioners to approve major actions.
“The Senate’s action today provided the long-missing piece for a fully functioning FTC. With Commissioner Bedoya finally confirmed, the FTC will now be able to take stronger steps to protect consumers, ensure open and competitive markets, and hold Big Tech accountable. We applaud the confirmation and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-N.Y.) work to steer the nomination of this extremely qualified individual through in the face of cynical Republican obstruction,” said Lisa Gilbert, executive vice president for Public Citizen.
The FTC is now positioned to move forward on a host of consumer protection and competition issues including strengthening the commission’s rulemaking authority, addressing business’ use noncompete clauses to lock in workers, and reining in misuse of consumer personal data.
“We’re optimistic that the long road to confirmation was worthwhile for the public interest. Commissioner Bedoya is very well suited to put his decades of experience in advocating for consumers to use with the already stellar team at the FTC. Now that the commission is up and running, we look forward to urgent action on corporate America’s multitude of unfair, deceptive practices and anticompetitive behaviors,” said Matt Kent, competition policy advocate for Public Citizen.
“Mr. Bedoya’s career has been dedicated to advancing justice in the digital space for Black and Brown communities. There could not be a better moment for him to bring that work into the FTC,” said Emily Peterson-Cassin. digital rights advocate for Public Citizen.
Public Citizen supports the Senate’s confirmation and urges the FTC to work expeditiously to address corporate America’s various attacks on consumer well-being.