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The second incident relates to the FTC’s complaint against LabMD, Inc., a medical testing company whose security practices the FTC alleged were unfair and deceptive. LabMD refused to settle this action with the FTC, and the complaint proceeded to litigation before an FTC Administrative Law Judge whose findings eventually will be reviewed by the FTC Commissioners.
On Dec. 17, LabMD moved to disqualify Commissioner Julie Brill from reviewing the ALJ’s decision, arguing that Commissioner Brill referenced LabMD in two speeches, suggesting that she had prejudged this case. The FTC responded, explaining that, although a citation to the LabMD administrative complaint appears as a single footnote in the written versions of the speeches, it does not provide any commentary on this case or suggest it had been decided. Rather, the FTC explained, the reference is listed as one of several other complaints where the FTC “found reason to believe” that a company failed to use reasonable and appropriate security measures. Despite disagreeing with LabMD’s motion, Commissioner Brill chose to recuse herself from review of the LabMD proceedings to prevent this ancillary issue from becoming a distraction.
