A U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing designed to turn the wheels on next steps for children's online safety legislation took a sharp turn into discussion over the removal of Democratic commissioners at the Federal Trade Commission.
With former FTC Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter on hand as a witness at the 26 March hearing, House Democrats on the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade seized an opportunity to flesh out the party's opposition to the firing of Slaughter and fellow Democratic commissioner Alvaro Bedoya. Republican subcommittee members notably did not engage in discussion of the FTC controversy, instead focusing their questions on children's online safety matters with other witnesses.
Slaughter's public appearance marked one of her first on Capitol Hill since her expulsion from the agency 18 March. Flanked by Bedoya throughout her testimony, Slaughter acknowledged the legal challenge to their removal is forthcoming.
"We are working to vindicate the law Congress passed because we care deeply about the honesty and the integrity of the FTC's work and how it affects the American people," Slaughter said.
She added the ousting sends a "clear message" that minority and majority FTC commissioners now "work under the shadow of arbitrary removal," which, she said, could raise potential enforcement conflicts and limitations in the future.
House Energy and Commerce Ranking Member Frank Pallone, D-N.J., said the removals "fundamentally undermines the FTC's ability to continue to protect American consumers." Pallone was able to secure a commitment from Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade Subcommittee Chair Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., on a bipartisan discussion among Energy and Commerce leaders about scheduling an oversight hearing to address the situation at the FTC.
Specific to children's online safety, the proposed Kids Online Safety Act and the Children and Teens' Online Privacy Protection Act, also known as COPPA 2.0, both would require enforcement by the FTC.
Reps. Kathy Castor, D-Fla., and Lori Trahan, D-Mass., could not envision effective application of either proposal in a potentially diminished enforcement environment where the White House "takes the cops off the beat." Castor opined it will be the Energy and Commerce Committee's job to "restore trust" in the wake of FTC removals and prior hurdles to passing children's bills.
Slaughter also spoke to the effectiveness of a bipartisan FTC and how the agency's structure fosters accountability to ensure enforcement is not watered down.
"We can work with each other, learn from each other, build toward consensus where it's available, and respectfully disagree where that consensus can't be found," Slaughter said. "Those respectful disagreements provide transparency and accountability to the public, advocates and parents to hear about what else Congress could be doing or the FTC could be doing."
In his opening remarks, Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., explicitly indicated he wanted the subcommittee hearing to focus on the children's issues over any FTC debate. He said, "We won't focus on (the FTC). There's issues for that and time for that."
Timeline for children's bills
KOSA and COPPA 2.0 proposals have yet to be reintroduced to the 119th Congress. Not only do gaps remain in House consideration of both bills, but reported differences between Senate and House versions of each proposal may present a greater challenge for lawmakers.
Since assuming leadership of the full committee, Chair Guthrie has made children's online safety a priority item to address over the next two years. The commitment was backed up during the subcommittee hearing, where Guthrie said the House will move the KOSA before the end of the calendar year.
"I wish we could say we had everything in place to keep our children safe online and that we weren't having this hearing today," Guthrie said in hearing remarks. "We are going to have a bill this year. It's going to pass as soon as we can get everything together we need to do."
Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade Subcommittee Chair Bilirakis, the House sponsor for the KOSA proposal, said he was "thankful we are hitting the ground early this Congress" on the children's issues given the hurdles observed in 2024. He also alluded to continued bipartisanship with each bill, noting children's online safety "impacts every one of our districts."
While a majority of Democrats echoed similar bipartisan sentiments, they made clear 2024 shortcomings and no finalized legislation to this point falls squarely on House Republican leadership.
"Let's not kid the people here to suggest that these bills are going to become law," Ranking Member Pallone said. "The bottom line is that we passed KOSA and COPPA(2.0) out of this committee in the last session and the House Republican leadership refused to bring these bills to the floor."
For the FTC's part, Slaughter said the agency is ready to use any tools Congress gives it to combat unfair and deceptive practices against minors. She noted she and Bedoya "care incredibly deeply about" children's issues and look forward to resuming their work.
In her written testimony to the subcommittee, Slaughter touted the FTC's children's online safety work. She mentioned several bipartisan enforcement actions, including the recent updates to the agency's COPPA rule and the 2023 settlements totaling USD520 million with videogame developer Epic Games.
"Bipartisan leadership at the FTC, although it involves more debate, compromise, and even dissent, delivers far more efficient outcomes than one-party leadership," Slaughter wrote. "And ... the civil servants at the FTC do more with less than any fancy law firm and are second to none when it comes to productivity, creativity, and professionalism."
Joe Duball is the news editor for the IAPP.
