Question 36
UnclassifiedWhat is the FTC's core private-sector privacy enforcement hook in the absence of a general federal privacy statute?
Correct answer: A
Explanation
Section 5 of the FTC Act is the agency’s main privacy enforcement authority because it prohibits "unfair or deceptive acts or practices" in commerce. In the absence of a general federal privacy statute, the FTC uses this provision to challenge misleading privacy promises and harmful data practices by private-sector companies.
Why each option is right or wrong
A. Section 5 of the FTC Act covering unfair or deceptive acts or practices
15 U.S.C. § 45(a)(1) authorizes the FTC to prevent persons, partnerships, or corporations from using “unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce,” which is the agency’s principal private-sector privacy enforcement basis when no omnibus federal privacy law exists. In practice, the FTC uses this provision to police false privacy representations and materially harmful data-handling practices by companies engaged in commerce.
B. The Privacy Act of 1974
C. The First Amendment
D. The Freedom of Information Act