Mayer is only 28, but he may easily be up to the job given his track record. On top of working closely with officials on privacy issues (he consulted for California's attorney general), he has a knack for forcing companies to come clean through his own research. He caught Google bypassing Safari's cookie settings to follow users, for instance, and busted Verizon for its use of an impossible-to-delete supercookie. So long as everything works out, the FCC will have someone who understands both the legal and technical challenges inherent to protecting your privacy.

[Image credit: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images]