Deborah K. Owen
{{Short description|American attorney}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Deborah Kaye Owen
| office = Commissioner of the
Federal Trade Commission
| term_start = {{Start date|1989|10|25}}
| predecessor = Margot Machol
| president = George H. W. Bush
Bill Clinton
| party = Republican
| education = University of Maryland {{Small|(BA)}}
Harvard Law School {{Small|(JD)}}
| termend = {{End date|1994|08|26}}
| birth_name =
| birth_place =
| birth_date =
| successor = Robert Pitofsky
}}
Deborah Kaye Owen{{Cite web|date=1989-10-05|title=PN416 - Nomination of Deborah Kaye Owen for Federal Trade Commission, 101st Congress (1989-1990)|url=https://www.congress.gov/nomination/101st-congress/416/actions|access-date=2021-09-26|website=www.congress.gov}} is an American attorney who served as a member of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) from October 25, 1989, to August 26, 1994. A member of the Republican Party, Owen served previously as an aide to President Ronald Reagan.{{Cite news|agency=AP|date=1989-05-13|title=Bush Chooses Head for F.T.C.|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/05/13/business/bush-chooses-head-for-ftc.html|access-date=2021-09-26|issn=0362-4331}}
Early life and education
Owen received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Maryland in 1972 and her Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School in 1977. Owen also attended the University of Edinburgh as a Marshall Scholar from 1972 to 1974.{{Cite web|title=Nomination of Deborah Kaye Owen To Be a Federal Trade Commissioner {{!}} The American Presidency Project|url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/nomination-deborah-kaye-owen-be-federal-trade-commissioner|access-date=2021-09-26|website=www.presidency.ucsb.edu}}
Career
In the early 1980s, Owen served as the General Counsel of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary.{{Cite web|date=May 26, 1983|title=Armed Career Criminal Act of 1983|url=https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/Digitization/93367NCJRS.pdf|url-status=live|website=United States Senate|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210926215725/https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/Digitization/93367NCJRS.pdf |archive-date=2021-09-26 }} Owen has been described as a protege of Senator Strom Thurmond of South Carolina.{{Cite web|title=FTC:WATCH No. 417 - FTCWatch|url=https://www.mlexwatch.com/articles/14/print?section=ftcwatch|access-date=2021-09-26|website=www.mlexwatch.com}} From 1985 to 1986, Owen served as Associate Counsel to the President during the Reagan Administration.
= Federal Trade Commission (FTC) =
In 1989, Owen was nominated by President George H. W. Bush to succeed Margot Machol as a member of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). As a member of the FTC, Owen opposed the agency filing an antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft.{{Cite news|date=1993-08-16|title=Antitrust|language=en|work=Bloomberg.com|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/1993-08-15/antitrust|access-date=2021-09-26}}{{Cite news|last=Markoff|first=John|date=1993-08-01|title=Justice Department Considers Inquiry on Microsoft|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/08/01/us/justice-department-considers-inquiry-on-microsoft.html|access-date=2021-09-26|issn=0362-4331}} Owens notably joined Commissioners Mary Azcuenaga and Roscoe B. Starek III in a 3-2 majority to drop the FTC's investigation of cigarette company Camel's advertising practices.{{Cite web|date=1994-06-08|title=Camel Ad Gets a Reprieve From the FTC : Marketing: Unable to substantiate link to smoking by children, regulators won't act against ad campaign.|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-06-08-fi-1743-story.html|access-date=2021-09-26|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US}}
= Post-FTC Career =
Owen resigned in 1994 in order to become a partner at Arent Fox, a corporate law firm,{{Cite news|title=DIGEST|language=en-US|newspaper=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1994/08/04/digest/94ba25b6-d4f8-4ccb-a90b-2f2377baf64d/|access-date=2021-09-26|issn=0190-8286}} and was replaced in her position by Robert Pitofsky.{{Cite web|date=1994-11-14|title=PN1863 - Nomination of Robert Pitofsky for Federal Trade Commission, 103rd Congress (1993-1994)|url=https://www.congress.gov/nomination/103rd-congress/1863|access-date=2021-09-26|website=www.congress.gov}} In 1995, she was profiled by The Washington Post in an article about the legal profession's adaptation to the digital world and how some lawyers felt uncomfortable using personal computers. Owens explained that early in her career, she was reprimanded for using a computer to type, stating that she was told by superiors "in no uncertain terms that lawyers don't type".{{Cite news|last=Torry|first=Saundra|date=1995-03-27|title=FROM WHERE THEY SIT, IT'S NOT TIME TO BYTE THE BULLET|language=en-US|newspaper=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1995/03/27/from-where-they-sit-its-not-time-to-byte-the-bullet/5839b84e-290d-48f9-a72a-21eab91e4881/|access-date=2021-09-26|issn=0190-8286}}