FTC launches drive to reduce regs

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) says it’s getting to work cutting down its regulatory footprint in line with President Trump’s agenda.

Earlier this year, President Trump directed all executive branch agencies to eliminate two regulations for every new one created. The FTC as an independent agency not covered by the executive order, but acting Chairman Maureen Ohlhausen said she welcomed the president’s directive.

“The FTC will continue to pursue the right answer for consumers, but we will work hard to get there as efficiently as we can,” Ohlhausen said in a statement Monday. “We are focusing our resources where they will do the most good for the public and eliminating wasteful, legacy regulations and processes that have outlived their usefulness.”

{mosads}Republicans believe the agency can play a key role in their efforts to undo the Obama administration’s tech legacy.

Earlier this month, Trump signed Republican legislation repealing internet privacy rules on broadband providers from another agency, the Federal Communications Commission.

The Trump administration and the telecom industry want to go further, and have called for returning internet service providers to the FTC’s jurisdiction by undoing the landmark 2015 net neutrality rules, which require companies to treat all web traffic equally.

According to the agency’s announcement, the FTC has begun closing old investigations, targeting “unnecessary” regulations and working to make their investigations less costly to those affected.

Trump appointed Ohlhausen as the agency’s acting chair shortly after his inauguration, but has not said whom he will tap to be the permanent FTC head.