On Tuesday, July 19, 2011, President Obama announced that he will nominate Maureen Ohlhausen to serve as a Commissioner with the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”). Ms. Ohlhausen has broad experience in the areas of online privacy and consumer information protection, and the nomination underscores the increasing importance of such issues to the Commission.
Currently, Ms. Ohlhausen is a partner at Wilkinson Barker Knauer LLP, where she works in the firm’s privacy, data protection, and cybersecurity practice. Prior to joining the firm, she served as policy counsel for the Business Software Alliance trade group. From 1997 to 2008, Ms. Ohlhausen worked at the FTC, including as Director of the Office of Policy Planning, where she handled issues related to e-commerce, advertising, and technology. During her tenure with the Commission, she led an Internet access task force that focused on net neutrality and broadband competition.
Earlier in her career, Ms. Ohlhausen worked at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit as a law clerk for Judge David Santelle, and clerked for Judge Robert Yock of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. Ms. Ohlhausen is a former adjunct law professor and a graduate of the George Mason University Law School. She received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia.
If confirmed by the Senate, Ms. Ohlhausen will replace Republican William Kovacic, whose term expires in September. She would serve a seven-year term on the Commission’s five member board.