As reported by Bloomberg Law, last week, Federal Trade Commission Commissioners made statements indicating a shift in the agency’s priorities under the Trump Administration to focus enforcement efforts on existing federal privacy laws while foregoing broader definitions of consumer harm, and fostering AI innovation.

At the International Association of Privacy Professional’s Annual Global Privacy Summit, FTC Commissioner Melissa Holyoak stated, “The Commission is committed to protecting consumers’ privacy and security interests while promoting competition and innovation.” Holyoak remarked, “We’ll do that by enforcing the laws we have—and not by stretching our legal authorities.” Specifically, Holyoak indicated that the agency should focus its enforcement of three laws under its jurisdiction: the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”), the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (“GLBA”). Holyoak also noted a focus on data brokers and other businesses that sell Americans’ sensitive data in bulk to foreign adversaries and bad actors.

Christopher Mufarrige, newly appointed director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, also made statements during the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s Public Policy and Legal Summit reinforcing the agency’s priorities. Mufarrige stated that the FTC will now be “much more in favor of innovation” and will focus on “actual, concrete harms” to consumers,” and remarked that “the Commission’s role is to reinforce market practices, not replace them.” With respect to AI, Mufarrige said that the agency will focus on “how AI is used to facilitate frauds and scams,” instead of challenging the technology in and of itself.