"Because we have the franchise on privacy enforcement, we will undoubtedly retain a leading voice on privacy policy," David Vladeck, director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in a statement.

A new privacy coordinator in the Obama administration could be beneficial to U.S. commerce, said Justin Brookman, senior fellow at the Center for Democracy and Technology, a digital rights group. A lack of modern privacy laws puts the U.S. out of step with much of the rest of the world, in particular the European Union, causing problems for international companies trying to transport data back and forth, he said.

A privacy coordinator in the White House or Commerce Department could focus on data portability issues, he said. "The lack of regulation is really hurting us competitively," Brookman said.

The IDG News Service