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Activist Vladek Steps Down As Head Of FTC Unit
by Thom Forbes, Tuesday, December 18, 2012 7:47 AM
To get a measure of the impact David Vladeck has had on the relatively tiny unit of the Bureau of Consumer Protection at the Federal Trade Commission, consider some of the adjectives
used to describe his leadership after he formally announced yesterday that he would step down at the end of the year: “hard charging,” “aggressive,” “tireless,”
“effective.” Vladeck, 61, is returning to Georgetown Law school, from whence he came in December
2009 after a long career at Public Citizen Litigation Group. His appointment to head the 425-person unit had been “lauded by consumer
advocates, who felt that the bureau had shown a pro-business bias under commissioners appointed by George W. Bush in areas such as consumer financial services and online privacy,” according to
his Wikipedia entry (citing stories in the New York Times and Mother Jones). Vladeck will remain as
a consultant to the bureau, whose stated mission is “to prevent fraud, deception, and unfair business practices in the marketplace.” “He's revitalized the bureau,” Randy Shaheen, an attorney with the Washington, D.C., law firm Venable tellsAd Age’s Jack Neff. “It's been a very active three years, with a lot
of new initiatives and guidance” on such issues as how to substantiate health claims, privacy and environmental marketing. Among the consumer-friendly achievements cited in a column by the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff Gelles earlier this
month:
- “Nestle agreed in 2010 to drop claims that its Boost Kid Essentials protected against colds and flu by
strengthening children's immune systems, all thanks to probiotics …;
- “Bureau lawyers won similar
settlements with Dannon over digestive- and immune-system health claims for Activia yogurt; Kellogg, over claims that children who ate Frosted Mini-Wheats daily ‘improved their attentiveness
by nearly 20%’ and that Rice Krispies improved immune function…;
- The FTC also took on Skechers and Reebok “over claims that their toning shoes could lead, as
Reebok put it, to ‘better legs and a better butt with every step,’ in agreements that won $65 million in refunds for consumers.”
Vladeck is also very proud
of a $2.5 million settlement earlier this year with Asset Acceptance L.L.C., a Michigan company that allegedly browbeat consumers into paying “
zombie debt,” Gelles reported. "For us, the highest priority was trying to protect consumers who were rendered vulnerable by the
economic downturn," Vladeck said. In addition, “during Vladeck's time at the FTC, the agency crafted a comprehensive privacy framework and brought privacy enforcement cases
against Google and Facebook,” Brendan Sasso and Jennifer Martinez
point out in
The Hill’s “Hillicon Valley” blog. “He also created the agency's Mobile Technology Unit, which helped coordinate the agency's mobile enforcement actions, according to
the FTC.” "I think we'll all remember the Vladeck years, for sure," Linda Goldstein, chair of the advertising division of Manatt Phelps & Phillips in New York tells
Ad
Age’s Neff. "He created a legacy. He was both feared and greatly respected." Charles Harwood, who has served as deputy director of the bureau since November, 2009, will
be acting director until a permanent director is appointed. Harwood previously had been the director of the FTC’s Northwest Regional Office in Seattle for 20 years.
In an address to the Promotional Marketing Association in Chicago in November 2011, Harwood indicated that that the
“small” agency was acutely keyed into demographic trends in developing its regulatory enforcement and policymaking agenda. “We need to pay attention to
trends and developments such as population changes, technological advances, and changing societal concerns,” he said. “Otherwise, we are at risk of falling far behind in fulfilling our
mandate to prevent unfair and deceptive actives and practices.” Harwood was front and center when the FTC
announced its crackdown on telemarketing “robocallers”
a few months ago, Matthew Shultz, posting on Arnold & Porter LLP’s
“Consumer Advertising Law Blog,” writes that the firm does not believe that Vladeck’s departure will have an immediate effect on the aggressive stance the bureau has taken in recent
years. But “it remains to be seen whether it will have any significant, long-term effect on the FTC’s consumer protection enforcement actions and priorities.” “Harwood is likely to continue Vladeck's legacy,” Katy Bachman
writes in
Adweek. "I don't expect we'll see a major shift in priorities," Amy Mudge, a partner with Venable, tells Bachman. "This is a strong signal from [FTC chairman] Jon Leibowitz that he wants
things to continue down the same path." “David has been an extraordinarily effective advocate for American consumers,” Leibowitz said
in a statement yesterday. “Under his leadership, the Bureau of Consumer Protection has worked tirelessly to respond to, and to
anticipate, the risks consumers face in a rapidly changing marketplace.” Leibowitz also announced that Eileen Harrington, the FTC’s executive director, will retire
on Dec. 31, and that Pat Bak, who currently serves as deputy executive director, will serve as acting executive director.