The United States Senate voted unanimously on April 26 to confirm five nominees, including Indian American Rohit Chopra, to the Federal Trade Commission, bringing the agency back to full capacity as it conducts a high-profile investigation of Facebook’s data practices, Politico reported.
The other confirmed members are Republicans Noah Phillips, chief counsel for Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas), and Delta Air Lines executive Christine Wilson; along with Democrats Chopra, a consumer advocate, and Rebecca Slaughter, an aide to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
The FTC members will take over the agency’s investigation of Facebook, which follows revelations that the social media giant allowed Trump-linked Cambridge Analytica to improperly obtain data on tens of millions of the social network’s users.
The FTC works with the U.S. Justice Department to enforce antitrust law and investigates companies accused of deceptive advertising.
Chopra is a senior fellow at the Consumer Federation of America. His work there has focused on consumer protection issues facing young people and military families. He is widely regarded for his expertise in the student loan market. (See earlier India-West story here.)
He previously served as assistant director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, where he oversaw the agency’s work on behalf of students and young consumers. He was also named by the Secretary of the Treasury to serve as the CFPB’s Student Loan Ombudsman.
Chopra later served as Special Adviser to the Secretary of Education to seek enhancements to student loan servicing and to develop stronger consumer protection standards.