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The FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection (BCP) is committed to providing legal clarity to legitimate businesses that wish to deal honestly with their customers and comply with the law. Last year, I shared how to work most effectively with BCP staff if your business receives a Civil Investigative Demand (CID), and the consequences that can result if businesses fail to cooperate. Now I’d like to address another integral part of responding to a BCP CID and engaging with BCP during an investigation: early and substantive engagement with BCP staff and, in cases in which the FTC is seeking monetary relief, the FTC’s Bureau of Economics (BE).

The FTC recently published an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to request input on whether it needs to update the Negative Option Rule from 1973. The comment period is open until April 13, so now is the time to read the notice and submit your comment.

Many of us use or work with rental housing in some way. Maybe you have been — or are currently — a renter. Or maybe you own a rental property, operate a property management company, or otherwise work with or around rental housing. If any of that applies to you, the FTC wants to hear from you.

If you’re thinking about opening a franchise, you’re probably looking for things like name recognition, training, and support to help you grow your business. What you’re probably not looking for is for a franchisor to mislead you about the risks and costs of opening a franchise. That’s exactly what the FTC alleges Xponential Fitness, one of the world’s largest franchisors of boutique fitness studios, did to prospective franchisees.

The Bureau of Consumer Protection is deeply honored to recognize one of its most distinguished alumnae, Jodie Bernstein, as she celebrates her 100 th Birthday. For Jodie, one of the Commission’s distinguished Miles W. Kirkpatrick Award recipients, this marks yet another milestone in a life filled with extraordinary accomplishments. Her career, in many ways, mirrors the history of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. Jodie first joined the...

Protecting workers and ensuring competitive labor markets is a top priority for the FTC and the agency’s Labor Task Force. By maximizing the agency’s jurisdiction and interdisciplinary expertise, the FTC is confronting challenges facing American workers. Take, for example, the announced settlement of a case brought by the FTC and eleven states against Walmart, Inc., which resolves allegations that the company misrepresented how much drivers for its delivery service, Spark Driver, would earn through tips, base pay, and incentives. The lawsuit alleges that Walmart’s practices caused drivers to lose millions of dollars in expected earnings.

Exclusive contracts are vertical arrangements that restrict one or both parties to the contract from doing business with anyone else. These contracts may have pro-competitive benefits such as reducing costs and discouraging free riding. However, a firm may also use exclusive contracts to deny a rival sufficient scale to compete. Any analysis of the effects of exclusive contracts on competition must weigh the potential pro-competitive and anti...

Your small business likely has had many milestones. Hiring your first employee. Opening your doors for the first time. Making your first sale. But some milestones you’d probably rather avoid — like experiencing your first cyberattack. Think you’re too small to target? Think again. Cybercriminals target companies big and small, so this Data Privacy Day keep your business’s data (and your customers’ data) safe by reviewing the FTC’s updated resources at ftc.gov/cybersecurity.

Each year, the Commission adjusts the minimum dollar jurisdictional thresholds that determine reportability under the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Act based on the change in gross national product in the prior year, as mandated by the HSR Act. The 2023 Consolidated Appropriations Act established tiers of filing fees based on the size of the transaction. The thresholds for these filing fees, as well as the fee amounts, are also adjusted annually along...

If you represent, coach, recruit, or otherwise work with student athletes, you probably know about the Sports Agent Responsibility and Trust Act (SPARTA). Since 2004, SPARTA has protected student athletes as they navigate contracts with sports agents and agencies. Today, the FTC sent letters to 20 universities — all with NCAA Division I sports programs — asking if sports agents representing their student athletes are notifying the schools as required under SPARTA.