Editing Federal Trade Commission (section)

==History==

=== Early history ===
In the aftermath of the [[Supreme Court of the United States|U.S. Supreme Court]]'s landmark decision in ''[[Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey v. United States]]'' in 1911,<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Fayne|first=James A.|date=1915|title=The Federal Trade Commission: The Development of the Law which led to its Establishment|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S000305540000945X/type/journal_article|journal=American Political Science Review|language=en|volume=9|issue=1|pages=57–67|doi=10.2307/1945762|jstor=1945762 |s2cid=146939544 |issn=0003-0554}}</ref> 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.<ref name="FTC hist">[http://www.ftc.gov/sites/default/files/attachments/ftc-90-symposium/90thanniv_program.pdf A Brief History of the Federal Trade Commission], Federal Trade Commission, 90th Anniversary Symposium.</ref> 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.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20140301021630/http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=29633 Republican Party Platform of 1912], June 18, 1912; [https://web.archive.org/web/20140301022828/http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=29590 Democratic Party Platform of 1912], June 25, 1912; USCB.edu</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20111117204056/https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/primary-resources/tr-progressive/ Platform of the Progressive Party], August 7, 1912; PBS.</ref>

With the [[1912 United States presidential election|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 directorate]]s, and stock acquisitions.<ref name="FTC hist" />{{Secondary source needed|date=August 2024}}

=== Recent history ===
In 1984,<ref name="frop">[http://www.ftc.gov/opa/1998/02/frop-97.shtm FTC Announces Results of Compliance Testing of Over 300 Funeral Homes in the Second Year of the Funeral Rule Offenders Program] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070629013621/http://www.ftc.gov/opa/1998/02/frop-97.shtm|date=June 29, 2007}}, Federal Trade Commission, February 25, 1998</ref>{{Secondary source needed|date=August 2024}} 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.<ref>{{cite web|date=October 24, 2008|title=Federal Trade Commission Funeral Rule – 16 CFR Part 453|url=http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/rulemaking/funeral/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120724005703/http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/rulemaking/funeral/|archive-date=July 24, 2012|access-date=August 14, 2012|publisher=Ftc.gov}}</ref>{{Secondary source needed|date=August 2024}} 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. 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]]."<ref name="frop" />{{Secondary source needed|date=August 2024}}

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.<ref>{{cite web |date=July 18, 1995 |title=Business Opportunity Scam "Epidemic" |url=http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/franchise/tsweep01.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070310140931/http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/franchise/tsweep01.htm |archive-date=March 10, 2007 |access-date=August 14, 2012 |publisher=Ftc.gov}}</ref>{{Secondary source needed|date=August 2024}}

In the 2021 [[United States Supreme Court]] case, ''[[AMG Capital Management, LLC v. FTC]]'', the Court found unanimously that the FTC did not have power under {{UnitedStatesCodeSub|15|53|b}} of the FTC Act, amended in 1973, to seek equitable relief in courts; it had the power to seek only injunctive relief.<ref>{{cite web|last=Hurley|first=Lawrence|date=April 22, 2021|title=U.S. Supreme Court curbs FTC's power to recoup ill-gotten gains|url=https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/us-supreme-court-curbs-ftcs-power-recoup-ill-gotten-gains-2021-04-22/|publisher=[[Reuters]]|access-date=April 22, 2021}}</ref>

In 2023, [[Project 2025]] suggested that an administration could abolish the FTC.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Elliott |first=Vittoria |date=August 1, 2024 |title=What Project 2025 Means for Big Tech … and Everyone Else |url=https://www.wired.com/story/project-2025-tech-industry/ |access-date=2024-08-04 |magazine=Wired |language=en-US |issn=1059-1028 |quote=And though some conservatives have railed against the dominance of Big Tech, Project 2025 also suggests that a second Trump administration could abolish the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which currently has the power to enforce antitrust laws.}}</ref> 

====March 2025 attempted firings====
On March 18, 2025, President Trump ordered the dismissal of Democratic Commissioners [[Alvaro Bedoya]] and [[Rebecca Kelly Slaughter]].<ref name="Trump fires Democratic Commissioners">{{cite news |last1=Godoy |first1=Jody |title=Trump fires both Democratic commissioners at FTC |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-fires-both-democratic-commissioners-ftc-sources-say-2025-03-18/ |access-date=18 March 2025 |work=Reuters |publisher=Reuters}}</ref><ref name="wapo-firings">https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2025/03/18/two-democratic-commissioners-fired-ftc/</ref> Presidents do not have statutory authority to fire FTC commissioners for reasons other than inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance, none of which were cited in Trump's orders; these restrictions were upheld by the [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]] in ''[[Humphrey's Executor v. United States]]''.<ref name="humphreys-executor" />

Bedoya and Slaughter both stated the attempted firings were unlawful. Bedoya described it as "corruption plain and simple," while Slaughter stated it "violat[ed] the plain language of a statute and clear Supreme Court precedent." <ref>{{cite web|last=Hurley|first=Lawrence|date=April 22, 2021|title=U.S. Supreme Court curbs FTC's power to recoup ill-gotten gains|url=https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/us-supreme-court-curbs-ftcs-power-recoup-ill-gotten-gains-2021-04-22/|publisher=[[Reuters]]|access-date=April 22, 2021}}</ref> While both Bedoya and Slaughter maintain they remain commissioners, their names have been removed from the FTC website and they do not currently have access to FTC resources.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://prospect.org/justice/2025-03-21-case-without-a-judge-ftc/ | title=The Case Without a Judge | date=March 21, 2025 }}</ref>

Republicans, including FTC chair [[Andrew N. Ferguson]], have argued that Humphrey's Executor was wrongly decided.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.axios.com/2025/02/14/ftc-chair-ferguson-trump-fire-commissioners | title=Scoop: New FTC chair endorses Trump's ability to fire commissioners of independent agencies | date=February 14, 2025 }}</ref> Legal analysts expect the firings of Bedoya and Slaughter, along with the attempted firing of Democratic NLRB member [[Gwynne Wilcox]], to serve as a [[Test case (law)|test case]] that will enable the Supreme Court to overrule Humphrey's Executor and grant the President unlimited authority to fire commissioners of independent agencies such as the FTC, NLRB, and the Federal Reserve.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.retailconsumerproductslaw.com/2025/03/taking-aim-at-humphreys-executor-trump-fires-the-ftcs-democratic-commissioners/ | title=Taking aim at Humphrey's Executor: Trump Fires the FTC's Democratic Commissioners | date=March 19, 2025 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.marketwatch.com/story/trump-and-the-fed-are-getting-along-but-now-there-are-new-fears-about-firings-0024f7b9 | title=There are new fears about Fed firings after FTC dismissals | date=March 19, 2025 }}</ref>