Political gridlock could prevent FTC from getting disgorgement powers
Congressional backers of giving the Federal Trade Commission more powers to recover ill-gotten gains will need a host of skills. But the most important one may be ensuring they can count to 60.
Protecting businesses from telemarketing scams
The Federal Trade Commission has long protected individual consumers from scams, but now it’s devoting more attention to scams that target businesses. This reflects a fundamental broadening of the agency’s sense of its mission.
Current Issue: 856
Sen. Rockefeller, Rep. Issa clash over LabMD data breach case
Fireworks erupted even before House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Cal.) gaveled to order a recent hearing focusing generally on the FTC’s Section 5 authority...
Commissioners Brill, Ohlhausen push for more privacy safeguards
Though FTC Commissioners Julie Brill and Maureen Ohlhausen are often on different sides of the ideological divide, they agreed more often than not during a panel discussion on big data and privacy.
International privacy groups seek government action against Facebook
Expressing “deep alarm” over Facebook’s announcement in June that it plans to collect the web browsing activities of Internet users for targeted advertising, the Transatlantic Consumer Dialogue, a...
The saga of the Phoebe hospital merger continues
Even when it appears that the long-running saga involving the FTC’s challenge to Albany, Georgia-based Phoebe Putney Health System’s acquisition of Palmyra Park Hospital is about to end, a new plot...
House panel praises FTC work on occupational licensing
Andrew Gavil, director of the Office of Policy Planning at the FTC, got a mostly-friendly reception at a House Committee on Small Business hearing on the topic of competition and professional...
FTC at 100: Agency burns to the ground during the Great Depression
Editor’s Note: With the FTC approaching its 100th-year anniversary, FTC:WATCH has initiated a series of articles highlighting the history of antitrust and consumer protection enforcement in America.