The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil (non-criminal) antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection.

In the aftermath of the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark decision in Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey v. United States in 1911,[6] 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.

[7] 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.

[8][9] With the 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 FTC could additionally challenge "unfair methods of competition" and enforce the Clayton Act's more specific prohibitions against certain price discrimination, vertical arrangements, interlocking directorates, and stock acquisitions.

In September 2013, a federal court closed an elusive business opportunity scheme on the request of the FTC, namely "Money Now Funding"/"Cash4Businesses".

[22] They were banned from processing credit card transactions, though the initial monetary judgment of $5.8 million was suspended due to the defendant's inability to pay.

"[27] Manuscripts are also sometimes held hostage, with OMICS refusing to allow submissions to be withdrawn and thereby preventing resubmission to another journal for consideration.

[33][34] The FTC alleged that the transaction would create a monopoly as it would "reduce competition significantly and allow the combined Phoebe/Palmyra to raise prices for general acute-care hospital services charged to commercial health plans, substantially harming patients and local employers and employees".

[34] Similarly, court attempts by ProMedica health system in Ohio to overturn an order by the FTC to the company to unwind its 2010 acquisition of St. Luke's hospital were unsuccessful.

[35] In December 2011, an administrative judge upheld the FTC's decision, noting that the behavior of ProMedica health system and St. Luke's was indeed anticompetitive.

In December 2020, the FTC sued Meta (formally known as Facebook) for anticompetitive conduct under Section 2 of the Sherman Act, which prohibits improper monopolization of a market.

The FTC accused Meta of buying up its competitors to stifle competition which reduced the range of services available to consumers and by creating fewer social media platforms for advertisers to target.

In November 2024, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta agreed with Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter and FTC Chair Khan, ruling the company a monopoly, and ordering Google to sell its Chrome web browser.

[40] The agency estimates 30 million workers are bound by these clauses and only excludes senior executives from the ban on enforcing non-competes.

[42][43] On August 20, 2024, a federal court in Texas overturned the FTC's ban on non-compete agreements, which was originally scheduled to take effect on September 4, 2024.

The three largest – UnitedHealth Group's OptumRx, Cigna's Express Scripts and CVS Health's Caremark – manage about 80% of U.S. prescriptions.

The agency stated that several PBMs failed to provide documents in a timely manner and warned that it could take the companies to court to force them to comply, during the announcment in the preliminary findings.

[51][52][53][54] In September 2024, the FTC sued the three largest pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) for allegedly engaging in anti-competitive practices that increased their profits while artificially inflating the list price of insulin.

[57][58] In February 2024, the FTC challenged the Kroger-Albertsons merger, arguing it would drive up grocery and pharmacy prices, worsen service, and lower wages and working conditions.

[59][60] On December 10, 2024, U.S. District Judge Adrienne Nelson agreed with the FTC, that the merger would risk reducing competition at the expense of both consumers and workers.

[61] In March 2024, the FTC released a report that found higher profit margins as a driver of inflation for grocery prices.

[72] In October 2024, following a comment by the FTC to the US Copyright Office, an exemption was granted allowing for repair of retail-level food preparation equipment, such as McDonald's ice cream machines.

It accomplishes this through the enforcement of antitrust laws, review of proposed mergers, and investigation into other non-merger business practices that may impair competition.

With the written consent of the commission, Bureau attorneys enforce federal laws related to consumer affairs and rules promulgated by the FTC.

Areas of principal concern for this bureau are: advertising and marketing, financial products and practices, telemarketing fraud, privacy and identity protection, etc.

If the results of the investigation reveal unlawful conduct, the FTC may seek voluntary compliance by the offending business through a consent order, file an administrative complaint, or initiate federal litigation.

[citation needed] Under the FTC Act, the federal courts retain their traditional authority to issue equitable relief, including the appointment of receivers, monitors, the imposition of asset freezes to guard against the spoliation of funds, immediate access to business premises to preserve evidence, and other relief including financial disclosures and expedited discovery.

[citation needed] The FTC has been involved in the oversight of the online advertising industry and its practice of behavioral targeting for some time.

"[90] The FTC suggested a number of different factors that would help determine whether the information was "clear and conspicuous" including but not limited to: However, the "key is the overall net impression.