Senate committee presses Mark Meador on FTC independence, big‑tech review and consumer priorities

WASHINGTON — Mark Meador, President Donald J. Trump’s nominee to serve as a commissioner on the Federal Trade Commission, told the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee on Feb. 12 that he would prioritize consumer protection and competition enforcement but repeatedly declined to take legal positions on questions that are the subject of pending litigation.

Meador, introduced to the committee by Sen. Mike Lee, R‑Utah, emphasized restoring focus on enforcement that returns money to harmed consumers and using the commission’s existing tools to police anticompetitive conduct. “I will enforce the law without fear or favor,” Meador said when asked how he would respond to potentially unlawful orders.

Why it matters: The FTC is charged with policing deceptive practices and anticompetitive conduct in markets that affect everyday costs for Americans — from groceries and prescription drugs to online platforms that process personal data. Senators used Meador’s nomination as an occasion to press the agency’s future direction on high‑profile matters: privacy and children online, pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), merger oversight (including the Kroger‑Albertsons deal), ticketing and Live Nation, and the agency’s independence in light of a recent Department of Justice statement challenging statutory removal protections for independent commissioners.

Meador pledged to consult staff, fellow commissioners and, where appropriate, Congress, before changing agency approaches. On pharmacy benefit managers, he said the FTC should use “all of the agency’s tools” to ensure competitive markets in health care and committed to working with lawmakers investigating PBM practices. On consolidation, Meador told Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto and others he would work to ensure enforcement up and down supply chains to protect consumer prices.

Several senators pressed Meador on the FTC’s role in examining whether online platforms have unlawfully censored users. Meador said the commission’s first step is fact‑gathering through requests for information and that he would “closely examine the evidence collected by staff” before endorsing enforcement actions. He also told Sen. Tom Cotton and others that if the staff concluded no enforcement was warranted, he would evaluate staff findings and consult with fellow commissioners on the appropriate next steps.

On agency independence, Meador repeatedly declined to state a definitive legal view about the constitutionality of for‑cause removal protections — citing ongoing litigation in which the FTC is involved — and said he would consult the agency’s general counsel on how to proceed if confirmed. Several senators, including Sen. Jon Tester and others, expressed concern that a change in removal protections would weaken the FTC’s independent posture.

Meador committed to enforcing existing consumer‑protection statutes such as the restoration authority historically associated with "Section 13(b)" remedies and to working with Congress on legislative fixes. He said he would support strict enforcement of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act if confirmed and pledged to work with states on biometric privacy enforcement given state statutes such as the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act.

The nominee also addressed industry‑specific issues: he said the FTC should continue examining ticketing marketplaces — including potential harms from vertical integration involving Live Nation and Ticketmaster — and promised to consult with commissioners and staff on pending merger litigation involving tech platforms. Meador agreed with senators that state attorneys general and the FTC have a history of productive coordination and said similar cooperation would be desirable for any future federal privacy law.

Committee members will submit written questions for the record; Meador and the committee set deadlines for responses. No committee vote was taken at the hearing.

Looking ahead: If confirmed, Meador would join the FTC at a contentious moment: the agency faces multiple major antitrust cases, questions about its scope on platform moderation and privacy, and ongoing litigation over its institutional independence.