Following the official September 25th expiration of Lina Khan’s term as Federal Trade Commission Chair, Chamber of Progress released a first-of-its-kind poll asking voters to rank Khan’s FTC actions by whether they will benefit from them personally, as well as voters’ thoughts on how the FTC should be prioritizing its responsibilities.

Read the full poll results here

The survey, conducted in August by Slingshot Strategies of 1,112 registered voters nationwide, asked voters about the 25 most prominent actions taken by the FTC under Khan’s leadership – including new rules proposed, lawsuits filed, consumer protection actions taken, and policy statements issued.

Rather than ask voters whether they supported each action, the survey asked voters whether each action “would benefit you personally.” Voters’ top-ranking items involved data security, fee transparency, and easy cancellations – while their lowest-ranking items involved merger challenge lawsuits.

Of all of the FTC’s actions under Khan, the top 4 actions that voters felt would benefit them the most were:

1. Data Handling: Requiring that companies properly handle and protect the consumer data they gather from apps, websites, and devices (80%).
2. Data Breach Notification: Requiring companies to notify individuals, the government, and the media about any breach of personally identifiable health data (80%).
3. Fee Transparency: Proposing rules to prevent services from hiding mandatory fees from advertised prices as well as misrepresenting the nature and purpose of specific fees (79%).
4. Easy Cancellations: Proposing “click to cancel” rules requiring sellers make canceling subscriptions as easy as signing up (77%).

Among the FTC’s actions under Khan, the bottom 4 actions that voters felt would benefit them the least were:

1. Mattress Merger: Suing mattress manufacturer Tempur Sealy to stop it from acquiring mattress store chain Mattress Firm (18%).
2. Microsoft/Activision Merger: Suing Microsoft to stop it from acquiring video-game developer Activision Blizzard (19%).
3. Meta/Within Merger: Suing Facebook owner Meta to stop it from acquiring the virtual reality fitness company Within (24%).
4. Meta/Within/Instagram: Suing Facebook owner Meta to reverse its previous acquisition of social media and messaging platforms Instagram and WhatsApp (29%).

“There’s a huge gap here: Khan’s Big Tech lawsuits drove headlines, but voters said those are the FTC actions that have impacted them the least,” said Chamber of Progress CEO & Founder Adam Kovacevich. “It’s pretty clear that voters value the FTC’s tried-and-true consumer protection work over Khan’s attempts to expand antitrust law by targeting Big Tech.”

The survey also asked voters which broad areas the FTC should prioritize going forward. The top-ranking items were focused on security, privacy, and scams, while big tech lawsuits ranked last. Ranked priority areas:

1. Scams: Protecting consumers from scams and security threats (45%).
2. Data: Protecting consumers’ privacy and preventing abuse of personal data (37%).
3. False Advertising: Investigating false advertising and misleading business claims (21%).
4. Pocketbook Antitrust: Preventing corporate consolidation that increases prices or reduces competition (20%).
5. Junk Fees: Combating junk fees and hidden charges (18%).
6. Rules: Standardizing rules within industries to ensure a fair marketplace (15%).
7. Harm to Suppliers: Preventing large firms from disadvantaging their competitors or suppliers (10%).
8. Studies: Publishing reports about businesses, their practices, and their impact on consumers (6%).
9. Big Tech Lawsuits: Suing large technology firms to force changes to their products and services (5%).

“Regardless of who Harris or Trump might pick as the next FTC Chair, this is a big sign that voters want the agency to focus on protecting their data and pocketbooks,” Kovacevich added.

Though Khan’s first term expired on September 25, she can continue serving as FTC Chair until a new Chair is nominated by the next President and confirmed by the Senate.

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Chamber of Progress (progresschamber.org) is a center-left tech industry policy coalition promoting technology’s progressive future. We work to ensure that all Americans benefit from technological leaps, and that the tech industry operates responsibly and fairly.

Our corporate partners do not have a vote on or veto over our positions. We do not speak for individual partner companies and remain true to our stated principles even when our partners disagree.