FTC chairman to step down this month

Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Joseph Simons on Tuesday official announced he would be resigning, effective Jan. 29.

Simons’s tenure at the FTC was largely defined by enforcement actions against Facebook. He took over as the head of the agency in May 2018, in middle of the FTC’s privacy investigation into Facebook that ultimately led to a $5 billion fine for Facebook.

Last month, Simons voted with the commission’s two Democrats to proceed with a lawsuit against Facebook. The FTC, along with 46 attorneys general, accused the social media giant of anti-competitive acquisitions.

With Simons’s departure, President-elect Joe Biden will have two spots to fill on the five-member board. Biden’s transition team announced on Sunday the president-elect is nominating Democratic commissioner Rohit Chopra to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.