A few days ago, I hosted a panel with FTC commissioners Rebecca Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya at the IAPP Global Privacy Summit in Washington, DC. We recorded the discussion, and we’re bringing it to you today.

Normal Decoder stuff, but these are anything but normal times. Becca and Alvaro were FTC commissioners until very recently, when President Donald Trump fired them — but he doesn't have that legal authority. They’re suing to get their jobs back, and they’re prepared to go all the way to SCOTUS if they have to.

Links:

Trump fires Democratic FTC commissioners | The Verge
Fired FTC commissioners sue Trump | The Verge
The case for breaking up Google has never been stronger | The Verge
The government doesn’t understand Meta | The Verge
FTC v Meta live: updates from the battle for Instagram, WhatsApp | The Verge
DOGE has arrived at the FTC | The Verge
Inside Mark Zuckerberg’s failed negotiations with the FTC | Wall Street Journal
FTC chair says he’d drop Meta case if lawfully ordered to | The Verge
Bedoya warns of “corrupting influence of billionaires”| The Verge
The FTC has enough staff to sue Amazon, after all | The Verge

Transcript: ⁠https://www.theverge.com/e/657115⁠

Credits:

Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.

Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Ursa Wright.

The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.

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