Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel recently announced the creation of a new Privacy and Data Protection Task Force at the commission in a policy speech given at the Center for Democracy and Technology. The task force will be led by FCC Enforcement Bureau Chief Loyaan A. Egal and will be made up of FCC staff from several bureaus within the agency. The FCC press release of the announcement stated that the task force “will coordinate across the agency on the rulemaking, enforcement, and public awareness needs in the privacy and data protection sectors.” According to the speech, the task force has already met, but no details of its actions are available at this time.

Rosenworcel outlined a broad agenda for the task force. She asserted that the commission has “clear communications privacy authority” and promised to “concentrate our efforts” in light of the “magnitude of privacy challenges we face.” Key items on the task force’s agenda are:

1. The task force will have input on ongoing rulemakings, including pending rulemakings on revision of the FCC’s data breach rules, rules to prevent SIM-swap fraud, and implementation of the Safe Connections Act (addressing access to communications for survivors of domestic violence).

2. The task force will assume responsibility for pending investigations into mobile wireless provider geolocation data collection practices, which were started last year.

3. The task force will have input into supply chain vulnerabilities, equipment authorizations, and undersea cable oversight.

4. The task force will coordinate privacy-related enforcement, including two new enforcement actions being proposed to the Commission “against two companies that have put the security of communications customers at risk.” 

Key Takeaways

This announcement continues Rosenworcel’s recent moves to address some of the more controversial topics for FCC consideration. As it becomes increasingly likely that Congress will confirm a fifth FCC commissioner, giving the Democrats a 3-2 majority on the FCC, Rosenworcel has been moving more forcefully to address issues for which there is disagreement among Democrats and Republicans. With a fifth commissioner (and third Democrat), Rosenworcel is likely to be able to garner a majority for many of these activities, including more aggressive privacy-related rulemaking and enforcement actions. The task force is a signal that we’re likely to see more FCC activity on privacy topics in the coming year and a half before the 2024 Presidential election. In addition, the upcoming enforcement actions could signal a return to a more principles-based enforcement posture at the agency, setting standards of conduct via case-by-case interpretation of directives such as the requirement that carriers engage in “just and reasonable” practices.