FTC's Phillips: Privacy would be best served by enhancing security enforcement

Noah Phillips, a Republican member of the Federal Trade Commission, used a public hearing on privacy issues to stress the need for data security legislation that would give the FTC the power to make rules and levy fines on first-time violators.

“The most significant thing we can do for consumer data privacy is to improve data security,” Phillips said, citing the widespread public concern over identity theft detailed in a 2017 survey by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.

Phillips...