FTC’s Demand for Tech Company Data Shows ‘Underutilized’ Power

The Federal Trade Commission’s orders to Amazon.com Inc., Facebook Inc., and seven other companies to turn over information on their use of consumer data shows how a little-used inquiry authority has been exercised lately to regulate the tech industry.

The authority comes from Section 6(b) of the FTC Act, which allows for wide-ranging studies that don’t have a specific law enforcement purpose. The FTC has used this power to launch a handful of similar studies in recent years.

There’s some skepticism over the studies’ impact, since they can take years to complete, but they can signal future agency action.

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