Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission Lina KhanThe bold and polarizing progressives behind many of the Biden administration's most aggressive anti-business actions are being touted by the news media.60 minutes” In this regard, a recent report by the FTC Inspector General on news leaks is particularly alarming and merits further investigation.
As a law enforcement agency, the FTC knows many trade secrets and other confidential information that companies must disclose. But rather than diligently protecting that information as legally required, the FTC apparently leaked it widely to some media outlets.
This is the Inspector General's disturbing central finding. annual report “FTC Top Management and Performance Challenges,” published September 30. This report examines the main management deficiencies and challenges that need to be addressed.
While the internal watchdog is respected, its position is clear. “The amount of unauthorized disclosures to the media regarding FTC breaches has steadily increased,” the report states. “While it is possible that some of the leaks came from outside sources, it appears that the media may be receiving a significant amount of non-public information from sources within the FTC.”
Such unauthorized disclosure be punished by dismissalup to one year in prison, and civil action. This disclosure also threatens the FTC's public service mission. report warns.
“The confidence of businesses, consumers, and other affected parties that the FTC will not improperly disclose nonpublic information is critical to the agency's ability to carry out its law enforcement mission,” the inspector general wrote. . Such information undermines trust. ”
Although the report does not name the leakers, it points to the FTC's problematic culture and cavalier attitude toward protecting this sensitive data.
“Despite recent training sessions on handling non-public information, written guidance from agency leadership to staff prohibiting leaks, and even warnings, the problem persists,” the report said. states. In layman's terms, either FTC officials aren't afraid of the consequences of this leak, or the agency's leadership is making the leak.
In fact, since the beginning of 2024, there has been a lot of talk about leaks of sensitive information by the FTC. Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-Ariz.) during a hearing on Innovation, Data, and Commerce of the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Subcommittee in July. ) asked Speaker Lina Khan. “Lesko: Did you instruct the commission's staff about these continuing leaks? Did you talk to your staff about it?”
“Generally speaking, I believe the General Counsel has reminded everyone of the importance of maintaining the safety and integrity of law enforcement,” Khan responded.
Chairman Khan's less-than-stern response deserves a follow-up. The main questions you need to ask are:
- Since July 9, have you taken subsequent steps to ensure that all FTC employees respect non-public and confidential data? If so, what are they?
- Why do you think this is happening now?
- Do you think that frequent, high-profile media interviews lead to a perception that it's okay to provide such sensitive information to the media?
- If the FTC requires companies to protect people's personal data and the FTC isn't doing it, how can we expect it to be respected?
The FTC must stop this series of information leaks. Failure to do so risks irreparable harm to its mission and position, and to the companies it investigates, as the watchdog has wisely stated.
Paul Steidler isLexington Institutea public policy think tank based in Arlington, Virginia.
