Jon Leibowitz Sworn in as FTC Commissioner

The Federal Trade Commission today announced that Jon Leibowitz, most recently vice president of congressional affairs for the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), has been sworn in as a commissioner. Leibowitz joins the FTC approximately two weeks after the swearing-in of Chairman Deborah Majoras.

Prior to holding his position at the MPAA, where he worked as the film industry’s liaison to members of Congress, Leibowitz was the Democratic chief counsel and staff director for the U.S. Senate Antitrust Subcommittee from 1997 to 2000. He worked concurrently as chief counsel to Senator Herb Kohl from 1989 to 2000. His other Capitol Hill experience includes stints as chief counsel to the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Terrorism and Technology from 1995 to 1996 and the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Justice from 1991 to 1994. He worked for Senator Paul Simon from 1986 to 1987 and as an attorney in private practice in Washington from 1984 to 1986.

A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Wisconsin with a B.A. in American History, Leibowitz subsequently graduated from the New York University School of Law in 1984. He is a member of the District of Columbia Bar.

A Democrat who lives in Bethesda, Md., with his wife and two children, Leibowitz succeeds Mozelle W. Thompson, who had been an FTC commissioner since 1997.

The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop and avoid them. To file a complaint, or to get free information on any of 150 consumer topics, call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357), or use the complaint form at http://www.ftc.gov. The FTC enters Internet, telemarketing, identity theft, and other fraud-related complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad. The FTC’s Bureau of Competition seeks to prevent business practices that restrain competition. The Bureau carries out its mission by investigating alleged law violations and, when appropriate, recommending that the Commission take formal enforcement action.