From the newest consumer gadgets to the explosion in communications capability that is driving global economic growth, technological innovation enhances our lives and provides us with new tools to perform everyday tasks. The Federal Trade Commission promotes competition in technology industries (like computers, software, communications, and biotechnology) as the best way to reduce costs, encourage innovation, and expand choices for consumers. Because the stakes are high in these fast-paced markets and the benefits to consumers and to the economy substantial, the FTC’s work in these areas is all the more important.
Technology markets can present some unique issues and challenges for policy makers, manufacturers, distributors, and consumers. Innovation is a central aspect of rivalries among technology firms, and the markets are dynamic: new ideas topple formerly dominant technologies and consumers line up to buy products that are smaller, faster, and better. But the fundamental principles of antitrust law and economics are equally applicable to even the newest industries.
This Web site has information about FTC activities to protect and promote competition in technology markets. Here you will find information on hearings and workshops, enforcement actions, and testimony by FTC Commissioners, as well as important consumer information on staying safe online.
- Amazon Alexa ( )
- Easy Healthcare Corporation, U.S. v. ( )
- Illumina, Inc., and GRAIL, Inc., In the Matter of ( )
- Meta/Zuckerberg/Within, In the Matter of ( )
- Meta Platforms, Inc./Mark Zuckerberg/Within Unlimited, FTC v. ( )
- Nvidia/Arm, In the Matter of ( )
- Next-Gen, Inc. ( )
- Twitter, Inc., U.S. v. ( )
- Frontier Communications Corporation ( )
- Everalbum, Inc., In the Matter of ( )
- Ascension Data & Analytics, LLC, In the Matter of ( )
- Facebook, Inc., FTC v. ( )
- Broadcom Incorporated, In the Matter of ( )
- Kuuhuub, Inc., et al., U.S. v. (Recolor Oy) ( )
- Flo Health, Inc. ( )
- Support King, LLC (SpyFone.com), In the Matter of ( )
- Beam Financial Inc. ( )
- Tapjoy, Inc., In the Matter of ( )
- Thomas Dluca, et al. (Bitcoin Funding Team) ( )
- MyLife.com, Inc. ( )
- FTC Says Ring Employees Illegally Surveilled Customers, Failed to Stop Hackers from Taking Control of Users' Cameras ( )
- FTC and DOJ Charge Amazon with Violating Children’s Privacy Law by Keeping Kids’ Alexa Voice Recordings Forever and Undermining Parents’ Deletion Requests ( )
- FTC Warns About Misuses of Biometric Information and Harm to Consumers ( )
- FTC to Host Cloud Computing Discussion on May 11 ( )
- FTC to Host Virtual Panel Discussion on Cloud Computing, Extends Comment Deadline ( )
- FTC Chair Khan and Officials from DOJ, CFPB and EEOC Release Joint Statement on AI ( )
- FTC Acts to Block Payment Processor’s Credit Card Laundering for Tech Support Scammers ( )
- FTC Testifies Before California State Senate on Right to Repair ( )
- FTC Staff Seeks Court Order Preventing ICE from Consummating its Acquisition of Rival Black Knight Pending Agency Administrative Challenge ( )
- FTC Issues Orders to Social Media and Video Streaming Platforms Regarding Efforts to Address Surge in Advertising for Fraudulent Products and Scams ( )
- FTC Acts to Block Deal Combining the Two Top Mortgage Loan Technology Providers ( )
- FTC Launches New Office of Technology to Bolster Agency’s Work ( )
- Wireless Customers Who Were Subject to Data Throttling by AT&T Can Apply for a Payment from the FTC ( )
- FTC Seeks to Block Microsoft Corp.’s Acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Inc. ( )
- FTC Report Shows Rise in Sophisticated Dark Patterns Designed to Trick and Trap Consumers ( )
- Administrative Law Judge Dismisses FTC’s Challenge of Illumina’s Proposed Acquisition of Cancer Detection Test Maker Grail ( )
- FTC Seeks to Block Virtual Reality Giant Meta’s Acquisition of Popular App Creator Within ( )
- U.S. Federal Trade Commission Returning Almost $25 Million to Consumers Worldwide Who Were Defrauded by Next-Gen Sweepstakes Scheme ( )
- FTC Seeks Public Comment on Amplifier Rule Amendments to Make Testing Methods More Useful to Consumers ( )
- FTC Report Warns About Using Artificial Intelligence to Combat Online Problems ( )
- Keep your AI claims in check(February 24, 2023)
- Amplifying the impact of your research(July 26, 2022)
- FTC announces three right-to-repair cases: Do your warranties comply with the law? (July 7, 2022)
- I’ll pay you to give this blog post five stars(January 25, 2022)
- Abracadabra: Bad reviews be gone (January 25, 2022)
- FTC releases agenda for Data To Go virtual workshop(September 10, 2020)
- Tapplock settlement: Smart devices need smart security(April 6, 2020)
- What’s in a Name? Ask the Technology Enforcement Division(October 16, 2019)
- Technology Task Force looking for technology fellow(August 8, 2019)
- Who’s in the mix at Nixing the Fix?(July 9, 2019)
- Older adults hardest hit by tech support scams(March 7, 2019)
- The not-so-big news about Big Data(June 16, 2015)
- PrivacyCon 2021July 27, 2021
- PrivacyCon 2020July 21, 2020
- You Don't Say: An FTC Workshop on Voice Cloning TechnologiesJanuary 28, 2020
- The Future of the COPPA Rule: An FTC WorkshopOctober 7, 2019
- Inside the Game: Unlocking the Consumer Issues Surrounding Loot BoxesAugust 7, 2019
- Nixing the Fix: A Workshop on Repair RestrictionsJuly 16, 2019
- FTC Hearing #10: Competition and Consumer Protection Issues in U.S. Broadband MarketsMarch 20, 2019
- FTC Hearing #4: Innovation and Intellectual Property PolicyOctober 24, 2018
- FTC Hearing #4: Innovation and Intellectual Property PolicyOctober 23, 2018
- Decrypting Cryptocurrency ScamsJune 25, 2018
- PrivacyCon 2018February 28, 2018
- Connected Cars: Privacy, Security Issues Related to Connected, Automated VehiclesJune 28, 2017
- Now Hear This: Competition, Innovation, and Consumer Protection Issues in Hearing Health CareApril 18, 2017
- FinTech Forum: Artificial Intelligence and BlockchainMarch 9, 2017
- PrivacyCon 2017January 12, 2017
- Fall Technology Series: Smart TVDecember 7, 2016
- FinTech Series: Crowdfunding & Peer-to-Peer PaymentsOctober 26, 2016
- Fall Technology Series: DronesOctober 13, 2016
- Putting Disclosures to the TestSeptember 15, 2016
- Fall Technology Series: RansomwareSeptember 7, 2016
- Remarks of Chair Khan at the May 2023 Open Commission Meeting ( )
- Policy Statement of the Federal Trade Commission on Biometric Information and Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act ( )
- Joint Statement on Enforcement Efforts Against Discrimination and Bias in Automated Systems ( )
- Dissenting Statement of Commissioner Christine S. Wilson Regarding the Petition for Recusal of Chair Lina M. Khan from Involvement in the Matter of Meta/Zuckerberg/Within ( )
- Remarks of Chair Lina M. Khan Regarding the Presentation on Data Security at the December 2022 Open Commission Meeting ( )
- How (Not) to Regulate Technology: Reflections from FTC Commissioner Phillips ( )
- Statement of Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter Regarding Bureau of Consumer Protection Staff Report: “Bringing Dark Patterns to Light” ( )
- Dissenting Statement of Commissioner Noah Joshua Phillips Regarding the Combatting Online Harms Through Innovation Report to Congress ( )
- Statement of Commissioner Alvaro M. Bedoya Regarding Report to Congress on Combatting Online Harms Through Innovation ( )
- Remarks of Chair Lina M. Khan Regarding Combatting Online Harms Through Innovation Report ( )
- Disputing the Dogmas of Surveillance Advertising: National Advertising Division Keynote 2021 ( )
- Statement of Chair Lina M. Khan Joined by Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter on Actions to Expedite Staff Investigations ( )
- Statement of the Federal Trade Commission on the Proposed Repeal of the Care Labeling Rule ( )
- Dissenting Remarks of Commissioner Noah Joshua Phillips Regarding the Commission's Issuance of Seven Omnibus Resolution ( )
- Dissenting Statement of Commissioner Christine S. Wilson ( )
- Separate Statement of Commissioner Noah Joshua Phillips In the Matter of Flo Health, Inc. ( )
- Joint Statement of Commissioner Rohit Chopra and Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter Concurring in Part, Dissenting in Part, In the Matter of Flo Health, Inc. ( )
- Statement of Commissioner Rohit Chopra In the Matter of Everalbum and Paravision ( )
- Statement of Commissioner Rohit Chopra Joined by Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter ( )
- Joint Statement of FTC Commissioners Chopra, Slaughter, and Wilson Regarding Social Media and Video Streaming Service Providers’ Privacy Practices ( )
- Combatting Online Harms Through Innovation ( )
- A Look at What ISPs Know About You: Examining the Privacy Practices of Six Major Internet Service Providers ( )
- Nixing the Fix: An FTC Report to Congress on Repair Restrictions ( )
- 6(b) Orders to File Special Reports to Social Media and Video Streaming Service Providers ( )
- Staff Perspective Paper on Loot Box Workshop ( )
- 6(b) Orders to File Special Reports to Technology and Platform Companies ( )
- Protecting Older Consumers: 2017-2018: A Report to Congress of the Federal Trade Commission ( )
- The Connected Cars Workshop: The Federal Trade Commission Staff Perspective ( )
- Cross-Device Tracking: A Federal Trade Commission Staff Report (January 2017) ( )
- Putting Disclosures to the Test ( )
- The "Sharing" Economy: Issues Facing Platforms, Participants & Regulators: A Federal Trade Commission Staff Report (November 2016) ( )
- Patent Assertion Entity Activity: An FTC Study ( )
- "Follow the Lead" Workshop, Staff Perspective ( )
- Big Data: A Tool for Inclusion or Exclusion? Understanding the Issues (FTC Report) ( )
- The Evolving IP Marketplace: Aligning Patent Notice and Remedies With Competition ( )
- Broadband Connectivity Competition Policy Staff Report ( )
- Antitrust Enforcement and Intellectual Property Rights: Promoting Innovation and Competition: A Report Issued By the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission ( )
- The US SAFE WEB Act: Protecting Consumers from Spam, Spyware, and Fraud. A Legislative Recommendation to Congress ( )
- Spyware Workshop: Monitoring Software On Your Personal Computer: Spyware, Adware, and Other Software: Report of the Federal Trade Commission Staff ( )
- To Promote Innovation: The Proper Balance of Competition and Patent Law and Policy ( )
- Letter to Assemblymember Fahy from Sam Levine and Elizabeth Wilkins ( )
- FTC Staff Letter to Department of Health and Human Services Concerning the 21st Century Cures Act: Interoperability, Information Blocking and the ONC Health IT Certification Program Rule ( )
- Federal Trade Commission's Statement of Public Interest ( )
- Comment of the Staff of the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection: Preliminary Draft for the NIST Privacy Framework ( )
- Comment of the Staff of the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection Before the Consumer Product Safety Commission In the Matter of the Internet of Things and Consumer Product Hazards ( )
- FTC Staff Comment to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration Regarding the Safety Working Groups “Coordinated Vulnerability Disclosure ‘Early Stage’ Template” ( )
- FTC Staff Comment to the NTIA: The Benefits, Challenges, and Potential Roles for the Government in Fostering the Advancement of the Internet of Things ( )
- FTC Staff Comment to the Federal Communications Commission: In the Matter of Protecting the Privacy of Customers of Broadband and Other Telecommunications Services ( )
- Comment Filed by Jessica Rich on Privacy Enforcement Implications of FCC’s Proposed Set-Top Box Rulemaking ( )
- FTC Comment Before the Federal Communications Commission Concerning the National Broadband Plan ( )
- FTC Comment Before The Patent and Trademark Office regarding Changes to Practice for Continuing Applications, Requests for Continued Examination Practice, and Applications Containing Patentably Indistinct Claims ( )
- Possible Anticompetitive Barriers to E-Commerce: Contact Lenses: A Report from the Staff of the FTC ( )
- FTC Comment Before the Food and Drug Administration Concerning Applications for FDA Approval to Market a New Drug (Relating to Abbreviated New Drug Application Procedures) ( )
- FTC Staff Comment Before Food and Drug Administration Concerning 180-Day Generic Drug Exclusivity for Abbreviated New Drug Applications ( )
- Intellectual Ventures I LLC et al. v. Capital One Financial Corp. et al. ( )
- In re Lamictal Direct Purchaser Antitrust Litigation ( )
- Jo Batman v. Facebook, Inc. ( )
- Wellbutrin XL Antitrust Litigation, In re ( )
- In re Ciprofloxacin Hydrochloride Antitrust Litigation ( )
- In re Tamoxifen Citrate Antitrust Litigation ( )
- Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. v. Pfizer, Inc. ( )
- Andrx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. Kroger Co ( )
- Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. v. Pfizer, Inc. ( )
- SmithKline Beecham Corp. v. Apotex Corp. ( )
- In re: Buspirone Antitrust Litigation MDL ( )
- Prepared Statement of the Federal Trade Commission Before the House Judiciary, Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial, and Administrative Law: “Hearing on Online Platforms and Market Power, Part 4: Perspectives of the Antitrust Agencies" ( )
- Written Testimony of Commissioner Chopra Before the House Judiciary, Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial, and Administrative Law: “Hearing on Online Platforms and Market Power, Part 3: The Role of Data and Privacy in Competition” ( )
- Opening Statement of Commissioner Chopra Before the House Judiciary, Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial, and Administrative Law: “Hearing on Online Platforms and Market Power, Part 3: The Role of Data and Privacy in Competition” ( )
- Prepared Statement of the Federal Trade Commission, “Competition in Digital Technology Markets: Examining Acquisitions of Nascent or Potential Competitors by Digital Platforms," Before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary ( )
- Prepared Statement of the Federal Trade Commission on "Staying A Step Ahead: Fighting Back Against Scams Used To Defraud Americans” ( )
- Prepared Statement of the Federal Trade Commission On "Examining the Proposed FCC Privacy Rules," Presented by Chairwoman Edith Ramirez and Commissioner Maureen K. Ohlhausen ( )
- Prepared Statement of the Federal Trade Commission On Opportunities and Challenges in Advancing Health Information Technology ( )
- Prepared Statement Before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary ( )
- Testimony of Commissioner Maureen K. Ohlhausen – Hearing on “The Foreign Investment Climate in China: U.S. Administration Perspectives on the Foreign Investment Climate in China” ( )
- Prepared Statement of the Federal Trade Commission On Cramming on Wireless Phone Bills: A Review of Consumer Protection Practices and Gaps ( )
- Prepared Statement of the Federal Trade Commission On "Oversight of the Enforcement of the Antitrust Laws" ( )
- Prepared Statement of the Federal Trade Commission Concerning "Oversight of the Impact on Competition of Exclusion Orders To Enforce Standard-Essential Patents" ( )
- Statement of Commissioner Maureen K. Ohlhausen on "The Need for Privacy Protections: Perspectives from the Administration and the Federal Trade Commission" ( )
- Prepared Statement of the Federal Trade Commission On The State of Online Consumer Privacy ( )
- Prepared Statement of the Federal Trade Commission on Do Not Track ( )
- Prepared Statement of the Federal Trade Commission On "How Pay-For-Delay Settlements Make Consumers and the Federal Government Pay More For Much Needed Drugs" ( )
- Prepared Statement of the Federal Trade Commission On the Commission's Law Enforcement and Consumer Education Efforts To Address Spyware and Other Malware ( )
- Prepared Statement of the Federal Trade Commission On Internet, and Intellectual Property ( )
- Prepared Statement of the Federal Trade Commission On Generic Drug Entry ( )
- Prepared Statement on FTC Jurisdiction Over Broadband Internet Access Services ( )
