Federal Trade Commission

Federal Trade Commission

United States government agency

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Seal of the Federal Trade Commission | |
Flag of the Federal Trade Commission | | Agency overview | | Formed | September26, 1914;111 years ago(1914-09-26) | | Preceding agency | - Bureau of Corporations | | Jurisdiction | Federal government of the United States | | Headquarters | Federal Trade Commission Building
Washington, DC | | Employees | 1,123 (FY 2021)[1] | | Annualbudget | $425.7 million (FY 2024)[2] | | Agency executive | - Andrew N. Ferguson, Chairman | | Website | ftc.gov | | Footnotes | | [3][4] |

Federal Trade Commission

The Federal Trade Commission ( FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil (non-criminal) antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection. It shares jurisdiction over federal civil antitrust law enforcement with the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. The FTC is headquartered in the Federal Trade Commission Building in Washington, D.C.

The FTC was established in 1914 by the Federal Trade Commission Act, which the U.S. Congress passed in response to the 19th-century monopolistic trust crisis. Since its inception, the FTC has enforced the provisions of the Clayton Act, a key U.S. antitrust statute, as well as the provisions of the FTC Act, 15U.S.C. §41 et seq. Over time, the FTC has been delegated with the enforcement of additional business regulation statutes and has promulgated a number of regulations (codified in Title 16 of the Code of Federal Regulations). The broad statutory authority granted to the FTC provides it with more surveillance and monitoring abilities than it actually uses.[5]

The FTC is composed of five commissioners who are nominated by the president and subject to Senate confirmation. Commissioners serve seven-year terms, and by law can only be fired for "inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office." No more than three FTC members can be from the same party. One member of the body serves as FTC chair at the President's pleasure, with Commissioner Andrew N. Ferguson having served as chair since January 2025.

History

Early history

In the aftermath of the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark decision in Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey v. United States in 1911,[6] the first version of a bill to establish a commission to regulate interstate trade was introduced on January 25, 1912, by Oklahoma congressman Dick Thompson Morgan. He would make the first speech on the House floor advocating its creation on February 21, 1912.

Though the initial bill did not pass, the questions of trusts and antitrust dominated the 1912 election.[7] Most political party platforms in 1912 endorsed the establishment of a federal trade commission with its regulatory powers placed in the hands of an administrative board, as an alternative to functions previously and necessarily exercised so slowly through the courts.[8][9]

With the 1912 presidential election decided in favor of the Democrats and Woodrow Wilson, Morgan reintroduced a slightly amended version of his bill during the April 1913 special session. The national debate culminated in Wilson's signing of the FTC Act on September 26, 1914, with additional tightening of regulations in the Clayton Antitrust Act three weeks later.

The new FTC would absorb the staff and duties of Bureau of Corporations, previously established under the Department of Commerce and Labor in 1903. The FTC could additionally challenge "unfair methods of competition" and enforce the Clayton Act's more specific prohibitions against certain price discrimination, vertical arrangements, interlocking directorates, and stock acquisitions.[7][ non-primary source needed]

1980s

In 1984,[10][ non-primary source needed] the FTC began to regulate the funeral home industry in order to protect consumers from deceptive practices. The FTC Funeral Rule requires funeral homes to provide all customers (and potential customers) with a General Price List (GPL), specifically outlining goods and services in the funeral industry, as defined by the FTC, and a listing of their prices.[11][ non-primary source needed] By law, the GPL must be presented on request to all individuals, and no one is to be denied a written, retainable copy of the GPL.[10][ non-primary source needed]

1990s

In 1996, the FTC instituted the Funeral Rule Offenders Program (FROP), under which "funeral homes make a voluntary payment to the U.S. Treasury or appropriate state fund for an amount less than what would likely be sought if the Commission authorized filing a lawsuit for civil penalties. In addition, the funeral homes participate in the NFDA compliance program, which includes a review of the price lists, on-site training of the staff, and follow-up testing and certification on compliance with the Funeral Rule."[10][ non-primary source needed]

In the mid-1990s, the FTC launched the fraud sweeps concept where the agency and its federal, state, and local partners filed simultaneous legal actions against multiple telemarketing fraud targets. The first sweeps operation was Project Telesweep in July 1995 which cracked down on 100 business opportunity scams.[12][ non-primary source needed]

Bush administration

Gateway Learning case

In the 2004 case In re Gateway Learning Corp., the FTC alleged that Gateway committed unfair and deceptive trade

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