FTC Sues Dental Products Distributors for Alleged Conspiracy Not to Provide Discounts to a Customer Segment

The Federal Trade Commission filed a complaint against the nation’s three largest dental supply companies alleging that they violated U.S. antitrust laws by conspiring to refuse to provide discounts to or otherwise serve buying groups representing dental practitioners. These buying groups sought lower prices for dental supplies and equipment on behalf of solo and small-group […]

FTC Amends its Rules of Practice to Allow Delegation of Limited Authority When the Commission Lacks a Quorum

The Federal Trade Commission amended its Rules of Practice to grant authority to the agency’s commissioners or general counsel under very limited circumstances to take action such as accepting settlements in the event that the Commission lacks a quorum. The amendment to Commission Rule 0.7 delegates such authority for limited purposes in rare cases such […]

FTC Approves Updates to Energy Labeling Rule

The Federal Trade Commission has amended its Energy Labeling Rule by updating comparability range and cost information for several products, including dishwashers, furnaces, pool heaters and room air conditioners. The Rule seeks to help consumers consider the energy cost of consumer products by requiring yellow EnergyGuide labels on certain appliances and other products. The labels […]

FTC Obtains Court Order Halting Business Coaching Scheme

At the Federal Trade Commission’s request, a federal court has temporarily halted an operation that took more than $14 million from consumers seeking to start their own online business. The operation misrepresented that its purported business coaching program would enable consumers to earn substantial income, such as “six figures in 90 days or less.” According […]

FTC Staff Testifies in Favor of Effort to Repeal Alaska Laws That Limit Competition in the Health Care Sector

The Federal Trade Commission staff has recommended that Alaska repeal its certificate-of-need (CON) laws, which require healthcare providers to obtain state approval before expanding, establishing new facilities or services, or making certain large capital expenditures. In testimony presented to the Alaska Senate Committee on Labor & Commerce on Tuesday, FTC staff endorsed an April 2017 […]

FTC Charges Ameritech and Brandon Frere with Deceiving Consumers

The Federal Trade Commission has charged a student loan debt relief operation with bilking more than $28 million from thousands of consumers throughout the country by falsely promising that consumers’ monthly payments would go towards paying off their student loans. This is the eighth action the FTC has taken in Operation Game of Loans, the […]

FTC Approves Final Order Requiring Canadian Fertilizer and Chemical Companies PotashCorp and Agrium to Divest 2 Production Facilities as Condition of Merger

Following a public comment period, the Federal Trade Commission has approved a final order settling charges that the merger of Canadian fertilizer and chemical companies Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc. and Agrium Inc. would likely harm competition in two markets: the North American market for superphosphoric acid (SPA), a highly concentrated form of phosphoric acid […]

Chairman’s Testimony on Virtual Currencies: The Roles of the SEC and CFTC

Washington D.C. Feb. 6, 2018 Before the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs United States Senate Chairman Crapo, Ranking Member Brown and distinguished senators of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify before you today.[1]  I am pleased that the Committee is holding this hearing to bring greater focus to the important […]

Advertising Firm Barred from Assisting in the Marketing and Sale of Weight-Loss Supplements Deceptively Pitched to Consumers

Marketing Architects, Inc. (MAI), an advertising agency that created and disseminated allegedly deceptive radio ads for weight-loss products marketed by its client, Direct Alternatives, has agreed to pay $2 million to the Federal Trade Commission and State of Maine Attorney General’s Office to settle their complaint. The complaint cites a history of creating similar claims […]

FTC Releases Agenda for PrivacyCon 2018

The Federal Trade Commission released the final agenda for PrivacyCon 2018, an event that will be held on February 28, 2018, and will highlight research that explores the privacy and security implications of emerging technologies, such as the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, and virtual reality. The 2018 event will also focus on the economics […]