While at the FTC, Brill also focused on privacy implications of emerging technologies, including how personal data is gathered and used, and its effect on consumer privacy. Brill served as assistant attorney general for consumer protection and antitrust for the state of Vermont from 1988 to 2008. In 1991, Brill and her staff discovered that 3,000 Vermont residents were identified as having tax liens against them by a consumer credit reporting agency. While serving at the state level, Brill also worked to coordinate with other states as co-chair of the Privacy Working Group at the National Association of Attorneys General. In her speeches and publications Brill has called on industry and policymakers to improve privacy in both consumer protection and competition principles. Brill wrote the Commission's unanimous decision in ProMedica dissolving the merger of two hospitals in Toledo, Ohio. Brill's ProMedica decision was recently upheld on appeal by the Sixth Circuit of the United States Circuit Court. Brill was nominated by President Barack Obama to serve as a Commissioner on the U.S. Federal Trade Commission in 2009. Her nomination was confirmed unanimously by the U.S. Senate on March 3, 2010 and she was sworn in on April 6, 2010. Brill took action against a wide range of technology companies for failing to secure personal data properly, calling for more protections for consumers regarding the inappropriate use of data behind the scenes. Brill supported the development of a “do not track” feature to allow Internet users to tell websites to stop tracking their online activities and collecting information about them. While at the FTC, Brill created the “Reclaim Your Name” project designed to encourage more transparency within the data broker industry. She appeared on CBS 60 Minutes in 2014 to discuss the data broker industry and what needs to change to provide more control and information for consumers. Brill received the New York University School of Law Alumna of the Year Award in 2014, and was elected to the American Law Institute in 2013.
Reception
Brill has been named "the Commission's most important voice on Internet privacy and data security issues", a "key player in U.S. and global regulations", "one of the top minds in online privacy", one of the top four U.S. government players "leading the data privacy debate", "one of the top 50 influencers on big data", and a "game-changer". In 2014 she received the Privacy Leader of the Year Award from the International Association of Privacy Professionals.
