New FTC Chief Good News For Work At Home

There’s good news today for people who want to work at home or have a telecommuting job.

Obama appointed Jon Leibowitz, current FTC Commissioner, to head the agency. Recently, the FTC has essentially allowed carriers, content and ad companies to “self-regulate,” meaning do as little as possible. That’s likely to change.

For example, consumer advocates raked the FTC over the coals for producing a shody broadband competition report that had virtually no original research of any kind. And recent FTC roundtables on broadband issues had a conspicuous lack of consumer advocates. In fact, FTC reports on network neutrality or privacy largely basicly parroted carrier talking points, and the FTC rarely sees a merger or acquisition they don’t like.

In contrast, Leibowitz was vocal about how Comcast and Time Warner Cable were allowed to gobble up Adelphia cable systems without conditions. He’s fought against state-level bans on municipal broadband. On the issue of network neutrality, Leibowitz has stated he seeks a “balanced” approach.

“Leibowitz will help transform what has been a largely anemic regulatory watchdog during the Bush years into an agency that sees its first priority as consumer protection,” Jeff Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy, told CNET. “Public interest groups such as mine appreciate that Leibowitz has called for tougher online privacy safeguards, and that his door has always been open.”