When it came to consumer issues like broadband, network neutrality or user privacy, the FTC in recent years has spent most of its time nodding dumbly at industry, allowing carriers, content and ad companies to "self-regulate" (code for do as little as possible, but put on a good show). Today Obama appointed current Democratic FTC Commissioner Jon Leibowitz (FCC bio, Wikipedia entry) to head the agency, likely paving the way toward a more active and consumer-centric FTC -- at least on some issues.

That wouldn't be particularly hard. The FTC's recent reports on broadband competition have been lambasted by consumer advocates for lacking original research of any kind, and FTC roundtables on broadband issues have been notable only for their lack of consumer advocates. FTC reports on concepts like network neutrality or privacy largely regurgitate carrier talking points, and the FTC rarely sees a merger or acquisition they don't like.

In contrast, Leibowitz didn't like that Comcast and Time Warner Cable were allowed to gobble up Adelphia cable systems without conditions. He's fought against state-level bans on municipal broadband. On the issue of network neutrality, Leibowitz has stated he seeks a "balanced" approach, but his speeches (pdf) on the issue are at best ambiguous about new laws.

One area where Leibowitz is clear about his desire for new regulation is on the online privacy and behavioral advertising front. That could spell trouble for a new effort by the phone companies to create a system of new voluntary rules governing behavioral advertising, allowing them to sell your browsing data (to firms like NebuAD or Phorm) without having to worry about privacy or wiretap liability. He has supported the creation of new opt-in laws in this area, previously highlighting the Can Spam Act as a success (it wasn't).

For four years before joining the FTC, Leibowitz was a lobbyist for the Motion Picture Association Of America (MPAA). While Leibowitz's full intent on new regulation isn't clear, consumer advocates see him as an upgrade.

"Leibowitz will help transform what has been a largely anemic regulatory watchdog during the Bush years into an agency that sees its first priority as consumer protection," Jeff Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy, tells CNET. "Public interest groups such as mine appreciate that Leibowitz has called for tougher online privacy safeguards, and that his door has always been open."