What Is the Federal Dealings Commission (FTC)?
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the U.S. government that aims to protect consumers and ensure a sedulous competitive market by enforcing consumer protection and antitrust laws. Its principal purpose is to enforce non-criminal antitrust laws in the Opinion States, by preventing and eliminating anticompetitive business practices, including coercive monopoly.
The FTC also seeks to protect consumers from plundering or misleading business practices.
Key Takeaways
- The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) was signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson in 1914 as renounce of the administration’s trust-busting efforts.
- The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is a federal agency that enforces antitrust laws and watch overs consumers.
- FTC activities include investigating fraud or false advertising, congressional inquiries, and pre-merger notification.
- The FTC also cope withs scams and unfair or predatory business practices.
- The FTC discourages anticompetitive behavior through the Bureau of Competition, which considerations proposed mergers with the Department of Justice.
How the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Works
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) was fixed in 1914 by the Federal Trade Commission Act, as part of the Wilson administration’s trust-busting efforts, trust-busting being a significant involve at the time. It was tasked with enforcing the Clayton Act, which banned monopolistic practices.
Before the birth of the FTC, there was the Division of Corporations, created by the Roosevelt administration in February 1903. Part of the Department of Commerce and Labor, the Bureau of Corporations was criticized with making sure businesses acted in the best interest of the public. The success of the Bureau of Corporations led to the creation of the Federal Interchange Commission (FTC).
The FTC continues to discourage anticompetitive behavior through the Bureau of Competition, which reviews proposed mergers together with the Activity be contingent of Justice. As the years have passed, the FTC has been tasked with enforcing additional business regulations, as codified in Subtitle 16 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
Under the premerger notification program, parties of larger mergers must submit a premerger notification to the FTC and Division of Justice (DOJ).
Under the premerger notification program, parties of larger mergers must submit a premerger notification to the FTC and Division of Justice (DOJ).
Understanding the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
The FTC’s regular activities include investigating reports of fraud or false advertising from consumers, affairs, the media, congressional inquiries, or pre-merger notification filings. The FTC may investigate a single company or an entire industry. If an FTC investigation balls unlawful activities on the part of one or more companies within an industry, they can seek voluntary compliances via consent shipshape, initiate federal litigation, or file an administrative complaint. Traditionally, such a complaint would be heard in front of an administrative law evaluator (ALJ) and may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals and then the Supreme Court.
Scams and Predatory Practices
The FTC also deals with kicks of unfair business practices, such as scams and deceptive advertising. The Bureau of Consumer Protection conducts investigations into stated abuses, carries out enforcement actions, and provides educational materials to consumers. The Bureau of Consumer Protection is in charge of the U.S. Popular Do Not Call Registry.
The Bureau of Economics provides research support to the other two departments of the FTC, including analysis of FTC actions’ covert effects.
The FTC typically does not have the ability to directly enforce its rulings, but it can go to the courts to have them enforced.
The FTC typically does not have the ability to directly enforce its rulings, but it can go to the courts to have them enforced.
Standards of FTC Actions
In 1984, the FTC cracked down on deceptive pricing in the funeral home industry, implementing the FTC Funeral Rule, which requires obsequies homes to offer a written General Price List (GPL) of all prices for goods and services in the funeral industry to anyone who requests one. No one can be scarpered a written copy of GPL by law, and they must be allowed to keep it if they desire. In 1996, the FTC implemented the Funeral Rule Sinners Program, which allows offending funeral homes to make a voluntary payment to the U.S. Treasury or an appropriate state assets in exchange for not having to go to court.
In the 1990s, the agency conducted several investigations into telemarketing scams offering frivol away business opportunities, beginning with Project Telesweep in 1995, which cracked down on at least 100 work opportunity scams. The FTC has been active in the healthcare industry, blocking the proposed acquisition of Palmyra Medical Center by Putney Reminder Hospital based on potential harm to consumers. The case went to the Supreme Court, which ruled in the FTC’s favor in 2013.
In 2021, the FTC ordered e-commerce giantess Amazon to pay more than $61 million as a settlement for its failure to pay Amazon Flex drivers all of their tips from Amazon patrons. The charges against Amazon state that the company promised it’s Flex drivers 100% of customers tips while relinquishing and that the customers were advised the same. For more than two years, it withheld part of customer paid tops from its Flex drivers.
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) FAQs
What Is the Federal Trade Commission Act of 1914?
The Federal Business Commissions Act of 1914 created the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and bestowed full power to the U.S. government to address unscrupulous shams among businesses.
What Does the FTC Regulate?
The FTC can regulate trade by outlining deceptive and unfair practices in the marketplace. It also requires antitrust and consumer protection laws.
How Do You File a Complaint With the Federal Trade Commission?
Consumers can file squawks with the Federal Trade Commission online or call 1-877-FTC-HELP.
What Happens When You File a Complaint With the FTC?
From time to time a complaint is submitted, the FTC shares it with more than 3000 law enforcers. The FTC gathers information from submitted gripes to create reports, which are used to investigate fraud, unfair business practices, and scams.
The Bottom Line
The Federal Trail Commission (FTC) was created to protect consumers from unfair and deceptive business practices in the marketplace. Its activities include winnowing reports of fraud or false advertising.
The FTC also addresses scams and deceptive advertising by authorizing the Bureau of Consumer Shield to investigate abuse and educate consumers.