Ohm to take advisory post at FTC

Ohm

Paul Ohm, associate professor in the University of Colorado Law School, will serve in the Federal Trade Commission as a senior policy adviser for consumer protection and competition issues affecting the Internet and mobile markets.

Ohm will take a leave of absence to serve at the FTC and begin his new position Aug. 27 in the agency’s Office of Policy Planning, which focuses on the development and implementation of long-range competition and consumer protection policy initiatives, and advises staff on cases raising new or complex policy and legal issues.

“Paul’s keen insights on how the law applies to technology and privacy issues will be invaluable to the FTC’s work in these areas,” said FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz. “We have been fortunate in bringing in a series of top-notch experts to advise us on cutting-edge issues and enhance our in-house expertise. We look forward to having Paul on board.”

Ohm specializes in information privacy, computer crime law, intellectual property and criminal procedure, with a particular focus on building new connections between law and computer science. Much of his work has examined how evolving technology disrupts individual privacy. His 2010 article, “Broken Promises of Privacy: Responding to the Surprising Failure of Anonymization,” has sparked an international debate about the impact on privacy of significant recent advances in data analytics.

His appointment to the FTC will mark the second time Ohm will serve the government focusing on privacy. He previously worked on similar issues as a trial attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice's Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section.