Federal Trade Commission (FTC)

Key takeaways

• The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent U.S. federal agency that enforces antitrust laws and protects consumers from deceptive or unfair business practices.
• Founded by the Federal Trade Commission Act of 1914, the FTC investigates fraud, reviews mergers, and enforces a wide range of consumer-protection statutes.
• The agency operates through three main bureaus: Bureau of Competition, Bureau of Consumer Protection, and Bureau of Economics.
• The FTC’s orders are typically enforced through the courts; it also provides consumer education and maintains complaint systems.

What the FTC is and why it exists

The FTC was created to prevent unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices in commerce. Its core mission is twofold:
* Protect consumers from scams, false advertising, privacy violations, and other deceptive or predatory practices.
* Preserve competitive markets by preventing anticompetitive mergers and business conduct that would harm consumers.

Brief history

The FTC was established in 1914 as part of broader trust-busting reforms. It built on earlier government efforts to monitor corporate behavior and has since taken on enforcement responsibilities under many statutes covering consumer protection, advertising, privacy, telemarketing, financial practices, and antitrust.

Organizational structure and roles

The FTC’s work is carried out primarily through three bureaus:
* Bureau of Competition — investigates and challenges anticompetitive mergers and business practices; reviews premerger filings in coordination with the Department of Justice (DOJ).
* Bureau of Consumer Protection — investigates deceptive or unfair practices, brings enforcement actions, and runs consumer-education programs (including oversight of the National Do Not Call Registry).
* Bureau of Economics — provides economic analysis to support investigations and enforcement decisions.

The Commission enforces or administers provisions of more than 70 federal statutes and regulations.

Core activities and enforcement tools

• Investigations — the FTC can investigate individual companies or entire industries for anticompetitive or deceptive practices.
• Enforcement actions — when violations are found, the FTC can seek consent orders, bring administrative complaints (heard by an administrative law judge and appealable in federal courts), or file federal litigation.
• Premerger review — under the premerger notification program, parties to larger transactions must notify the FTC and DOJ so the agencies can evaluate potential competitive harms.
• Rulemaking and consumer education — the FTC issues rules (for example, the Telemarketing Sales Rule), publishes guidance, and provides consumer resources.

Important limitation: the FTC typically cannot directly enforce its orders without court involvement; it relies on the federal courts to obtain remedies when necessary.

Notable examples of FTC actions

• Funeral Rule (1984) — required funeral homes to provide written price lists to consumers, increasing price transparency.
• Project Telesweep (1990s) — series of actions targeting telemarketing and business opportunity scams.
• Hospital acquisition enforcement — the FTC has challenged hospital mergers when they posed significant competitive harm, with disputes reaching the Supreme Court.
• Amazon Flex settlement (2021) — required payment and remedial action after findings that Amazon withheld portions of customer tips from delivery drivers.

How to file a complaint

Consumers can report complaints and suspected fraud to the FTC:
* Online via the FTC complaint portal.
* By phone: 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357).
The FTC also operates an identity-theft hotline (1-877-ID-THEFT) and maintains the National Do Not Call Registry.

What happens after you file:
* Complaints are shared with thousands of federal, state, and local law-enforcement partners.
* Individual complaints may inform broader investigations, enforcement actions, policy reports, or consumer alerts.

Frequently asked questions

What does the FTC regulate?
* The FTC identifies and enforces against deceptive, unfair, or anticompetitive business practices across many industries, including advertising, privacy, financial services, healthcare, and telemarketing.

What is the Federal Trade Commission Act of 1914?
* The Act created the FTC and granted it authority to prevent unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive practices affecting commerce.

How does the FTC work with the Department of Justice?
* The FTC’s Bureau of Competition and the DOJ’s Antitrust Division coordinate on merger review and antitrust enforcement, though each agency brings and litigates its own cases.

Conclusion

The FTC is the primary federal agency tasked with promoting competition and protecting consumers. It combines investigations, enforcement, rulemaking, and education to address deceptive practices and anticompetitive conduct, and it partners with other law-enforcement bodies to pursue remedies and shape marketplace standards.