The seven-month long 2-2 split on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ended following the Senate’s 51-50 confirmation of Alvero Bedoya to the commission. Bedoya was nominated by President Joe Biden in September of last year to fill the seat vacated by Rohit Chopra, who took over as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Bedoya’s career has focused on privacy rights and technology. He was the founding director of the Center on Privacy & Technology at Georgetown Law, where he is a visiting professor. His work on the harms of face recognition technology helped bring about the passage of face recognition restrictions across the country, he led the national Institute of Standards and Technology to conduct the first comprehensive bias audit of face recognition algorithms and helped develop a federal law requiring bias testing in airport face recognition systems.
Previously, Bedoya served as chief counsel to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law upon the subcommittee’s creation in 2011. As a Senate staffer, Bedoya helped draft bipartisan legislation to protect victims of sexual assault, conducted oversight hearings of technology companies and helped negotiate and draft bipartisan legislation to rein in the National Security Agency.
Republicans voted unanimously in opposition to Bedotya’s confirmation. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Bedoya “has publicly attacked police and law enforcement and demanded that our country not enforce our immigration laws. He has called for states to essentially nullify federal immigration law.”
The partisan vote gives the FTC a Democrat majority which will allow for Chair Lina Khan to begin enacting more of the administration’s agenda.
“I want to extend a warm welcome to Alvaro as he joins our FTC team,” FTC Chair Lina Khan said. “Together with our talented and hard-working staff and my fellow Commissioners, I’m confident we can vigorously advance our mission and fully serve the American people.”
Bedoya was sworn in on May 16, 2022, and his term will expire on September 25, 2026.