The Record: Data privacy experts predict some wins under Trump 2.0

Other digital privacy advocates struck a more hopeful tone, noting that digital privacy is a bipartisan issue. In the first Trump administration the FTC issued many tough privacy enforcements, said John Davisson, director of litigation at the Electronic Privacy Information Center. 

While the current FTC is often split across party lines, Davisson said there is also notable agreement between the commissioners, which is sometimes reflected in vote tallies. 

“If you look at the areas of alignment and agreement between the commissioners, there’s actually quite a lot they agree on, and that I would expect to see carried forward into the next administration,” he said. 

The FTC and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB)’s work cracking down on data brokers will likely continue in the next Trump administration in some form, Davisson said, citing the bipartisan focus on the issue and the government wide push to rein in data brokers selling to China. 

The CFPB is currently working on a sweeping rule that would designate data brokers as consumer reporting agencies, a status that would force them to adhere to tough accuracy and privacy regulations outlined in the Fair Credit Reporting Act and would prevent law enforcement from buying some of their data. 

“There’s a recognition that the problem of data brokers is not just a left-wing fixation,” Davisson said. “It’s something that has major implications for national security. It has major implications for the safety of law enforcement and judicial officers. It has implications for fraud, harassment, stalking, abuse.” 

“There’s really quite a lot of bipartisan agreement around the consensus that something needs to be done to rein in an industry that is out of control and causing all of these harms and creating all of these risks,” Davisson added. 

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