FTC
Federal Trade Commission
Topic A: Establishing Regulations on Prediction Market Trading
The prediction market industry is a new and growing industry that allows users to buy and sell contracts based on the predicted outcome of future events, ranging from elections, court decisions, entertainment awards, and sporting competitions. Contract prices often reflect the market’s estimated likelihood that an event will occur. Supporters see these platforms as valuable forecasting tools, while critics compare forms of prediction trading to gambling, warning that traders may attempt to manipulate events or profit off of confidential information. The rapid growth of these online platforms has created uncertainty over whether the government should view these contracts as gambling products or simply another type of commercial service. This distinction affects which regulators possess authority, with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission overseeing many event contracts and state governments regulating gambling. Despite this, the FTC may decide to step in and regulate this emerging industry whose combination of financial speculation, entertainment, and real-world events challenges traditional notions of regulatory boundaries.
Topic B: Protecting Consumer Privacy and the Commercial Sale of Personal Data
Companies collect enormous amounts of personal information from consumers through website cookies, purchases, location services, and certain forms of online advertising. Recently, data broker firms have begun aggregating this information into detailed profiles and selling them to a variety of interested parties, such as advertisers, insurers, employers, political campaigns, and private investigators. Despite massive profits, these firms exist in a moral grey area as consumers are often unaware of this data collection process. These datasets can reveal sensitive details about health, finances, religion, and daily behavior. Although companies argue that data collection supports personalized services and maintaining free online platforms, this trade can aid identity theft and potentially expose intimate personal information. Consumers also face lengthy privacy policies which limit their ability to determine which companies possess their data or request its deletion. This topic focuses on the commercial data ecosystem within the US, exploring the limits of consumer privacy protections and the risks created when personal information becomes a widely traded economic asset..