Recent testimony by new Federal Trade Commission chief Joseph Simons has buoyed supporters of arming the commission with more proactive authority to protect consumer privacy and data security, but it’s still far from cause to start prepping any champagne, some of those advocates say.

In testimony before the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on digital commerce and consumer protection earlier this month, Simons called for legislation that would give the agency rulemaking authority for privacy and data security issues.

“It’s very refreshing to see a Republican think this way: that consumers need more protection, not less, and that it is essential for consumers to be protected, that there be some overarching rules,” Gigi Sohn told Inside Cybersecurity in response to Simons’ comments.

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