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This headline is, as they say, greatly exaggerated. Algorithms have an age old anti-enforcement weapon, called the white shoe law firm. https://www.debevoise.c

• qchris 5y ago
  I don't understand your point here. Are you simply saying that companies can prevent this by...hiring an expensive lawyer? That seems like sort of a strawman argument; hiring a "white shoe law firm" doesn't make an FTC action go away. Companies could hire one of those anyway, but now if the firms fail to win their case (which does in fact happen) the FTC has much sharper teeth which with to move forward. The risk profile for companies engaging in data malpractice goes significantly up. Outside of that, the headline seems very accurate--algorithmic disgorgement is a very new approach (the Everalbum ruling was in early 2021), and with the Kurbo ruling, one it appears is going to be much more common moving forward. The whole area of regulating algorithmic use is pretty novel--the whole field is basically so new that agencies are still figuring out the way to go about.
  • scotuswroteus 5y ago
    No way -- the FTC self-polices because of fear of losing a case. And precedent deters the FTC -- one borderline enforcement action that gets overturned either by a lower court or an appeal court spells a complete disaster for their leadership. That's why a single tech company with an effective legal strategy and deep pockets can upend whatever enhanced enforcement capacity this new "weapon" poses.