Alvaro Bedoya

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Alvaro Bedoya
Commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission
Assumed office
May 16, 2022
PresidentJoe Biden
Preceded byRohit Chopra
Personal details
Born1982 (age 41–42)
Lima, Peru
Political partyDemocratic
EducationHarvard University (AB)
Yale University (JD)

Alvaro Martin Bedoya[1] (born February 21, 1982) is an American attorney and government official who has served on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) since 2022.

Known for his focus on digital privacy issues, Bedoya was the founding director of the Center on Privacy and Technology at the Georgetown University Law Center.[2] Bedoya is a member of the Democratic Party and was nominated to the position by President Joe Biden.[3]

Early life and education[edit]

Bedoya was born in 1982 in Lima, Peru, and was raised in Vestal, New York.[4] Bedoya received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard College and a Juris Doctor from Yale Law School. While at Yale, Bedoya served as an Editor on the Yale Law Journal.[5]

During law school, Bedoya worked at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Wilmer Hale, and for Senator Ted Kennedy on the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees, and Border Security.[6]

Legal career[edit]

After law school, Bedoya was an associate at Wilmer Hale from 2007 to 2009. He then served as chief counsel to the United States Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law.[7] Bedoya also served as chief counsel to Senator Al Franken (D-MN).[8]

He then founded and directed the Center on Privacy and Technology at Georgetown Law, where he also served as a Professor of Law.[9] Bedoya is known for his opposition to government surveillance, and has argued that the right to privacy is a civil liberty.[10] In a 2018 article in The New York Times, Bedoya criticized Facebook, Google, and other technology companies for alleged violations of user privacy rights.[11] Bedoya advocated for the removal of advertisements for payday loan services on Google, stating that the "internet should not be a place that profits from your weaknesses".[12]

Bedoya's work has been published in publications such as The New York Times,[11] The Washington Post,[13] and The Atlantic.[14]

Federal Trade Commission (FTC)[edit]

In early 2021, Bedoya was considered by President Joe Biden as a potential nominee to chair the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) seat held by Joseph Simons.[15] However, Lina Khan was instead chosen for this position.

Nomination and confirmation[edit]

In September 2021, Bedoya was nominated for the FTC seat held by Rohit Chopra. Bedoya's nomination was praised by now-FTC Chair Khan, who stated that Bedoya's "expertise on surveillance and data security and his longstanding commitment to public service would be enormously valuable to the Commission" in a press release.[16]

On December 1, 2021, the Senate Commerce Committee deadlocked on his nomination.[17] On March 3, 2022, the committee once again deadlocked on Bedoya's nomination, forcing the full Senate to move to discharge it.[18] On March 30, 2022, his nomination was discharged by the full Senate.[19][20]

Bedoya was confirmed by the full Senate on May 11, 2022, by a vote of 51-50 with Vice President Kamala Harris casting the tie-breaking vote.[21]

Tenure[edit]

Bedoya was sworn in on May 16, 2022 for a term running until September 25, 2026.[22] According to Politico, Bedoya has been recognized for having "policy expertise on tech-driven consumer harms outside of antitrust", with a particular focus on data privacy issues.[23]

As a member of the FTC, Bedoya has advocated for reviving enforcement of the Robinson–Patman Act, a 1936 law that prohibits price discrimination.[24] Alongside Democratic colleagues Khan and Rebecca Slaughter, Bedoya voted in favor of bringing an antitrust lawsuit against Meta's acquisition of Within in 2022.[25]

Recognition[edit]

  • 2022 NHMC DC Impact Awards (NHMC Impact Award Digital Advocacy)[26]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Yale Law School, 2007–2008" (PDF). Yale Law School. p. 155. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 2, 2019. Alvaro Martin Bedoya
  2. ^ "Biden to nominate critic of surveillance software to FTC, further bolstering agency as check on Big Tech". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved September 13, 2021.
  3. ^ Morrison, Sara (May 11, 2022). "Democrats finally get their FTC majority back". Vox. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
  4. ^ "Fourteen win Soros Fellowships". Harvard Gazette. February 16, 2006. Retrieved September 15, 2021.
  5. ^ "Alvaro Bedoya". Retrieved September 13, 2021.
  6. ^ "Senate Commerce Committee Nominee Questionnaire".
  7. ^ "The Dark Horse for Antitrust Chief, FTC". Benton Foundation. February 1, 2021. Retrieved September 13, 2021.
  8. ^ "Bio - Alvaro Bedoya" (PDF). United States House of Representatives. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 2, 2017.
  9. ^ "Alvaro Bedoya". Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  10. ^ Buttar, Shahid (April 25, 2019). "Alvaro Bedoya Highlights the Critical Connection between Civil Liberties and Civil Rights". Electronic Frontier Foundation. Retrieved September 13, 2021.
  11. ^ a b Bedoya, Alvaro M. (June 7, 2018). "Opinion | A License to Discriminate". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 13, 2021.
  12. ^ Francisco, Shaun Nichols in San. "Google kneecaps payday loan ads". www.theregister.com. Retrieved September 13, 2021.
  13. ^ Bedoya, Alvaro (March 22, 2017). "Opinion | Who's logging your face?". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved September 15, 2021.
  14. ^ Bedoya, Alvaro M. (June 21, 2017). "Deportation Is Going High-Tech Under Trump". The Atlantic. Retrieved September 15, 2021.
  15. ^ Nylen, Leah (March 9, 2021). "Biden picks two antitrust crusaders. But his biggest choices come next". Politico PRO. Retrieved September 13, 2021.
  16. ^ "Statement of FTC Chair Lina M. Khan on the Nomination of Alvaro Bedoya to Serve as a Commissioner". Federal Trade Commission. September 13, 2021. Retrieved September 13, 2021.
  17. ^ Vittorio, Andrea. "Senate Commerce Deadlocks Over Bedoya's Nomination to FTC (1)". Bloomberg Law. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
  18. ^ Zakrzewski, Cat (March 3, 2022). "Democrats move a step closer to breaking deadlocks at FTC and FCC". Washington Post. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
  19. ^ "On the Motion to Discharge (Motion to Discharge: Alvaro M. Bedoya to be a Federal Trade Commissioner from the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation)". US Senate. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
  20. ^ McKinnon, John D. (March 30, 2022). "Senate Advances Bedoya Nomination to Federal Trade Commission". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  21. ^ "On the Nomination (Confirmation: Alvaro M. Bedoya, of Maryland, to be a Federal Trade Commissioner)". US Senate. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
  22. ^ "Alvaro Bedoya Sworn in as FTC Commissioner". FTC.gov. May 16, 2022. Retrieved June 13, 2022.
  23. ^ Sisco, Josh (December 30, 2022). "The FTC's newest commissioner speaks". POLITICO. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
  24. ^ Nylen, Leah (September 22, 2022). "FTC's Bedoya Presses for Return to Fairness Over Efficiency". Bloomberg Law. Retrieved September 24, 2022.
  25. ^ Sisco, Josh (July 27, 2022). "Antitrust agency takes aim at the metaverse by suing Facebook". POLITICO. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
  26. ^ "NHMC Impact: Washington D.C." NHMC.org.
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