Published: May 2021

Congress asked to restore FTC’s monetary relief powers

Groups ask Congress to expand the FTC’s powers to protect consumers, which have been jeopardized by a recent Supreme Court decision calling into question the FTC’s authority to demand monetary relief in its enforcement actions.

Advocacy groups wrote to the leaders of the Senate and House commerce committees to urge legislative action to ensure that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has the full range of authority to curb unfair, deceptive, fraudulent and anticompetitive acts and practices. The April 2021 Supreme Court decision in AMG Capital Management, LLC, et al. v. Federal Trade Commission has compromised the ability of the FTC to demand monetary relief in certain enforcement actions. The groups urge Congress to amend the FTC Act (the law in question under the recent court decision) to ensure that the Commission’s “full slate of enforcement tools is preserved,” including its ability to seek injunctive as well as monetary and equitable remedies on behalf of consumers affected by violations. In addition, the groups asked Congress to go even further to expand the FTC’s powers to ensure its ability to protect consumers from unfair, deceptive, fraudulent and anticompetitive acts by industries and corporations.

To download the letter, scroll down (Download PDF).

Lead Organization

National Association of Consumer Advocates

Other Organizations

Access Now | American Association for Justice | Americans for Financial Reform | California Reinvestment Coalition | Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood | Center for Digital Democracy | Center for Justice & Democracy | Common Sense | Consumer Action | Consumer Federation of America | Consumer Reports | Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) | Jacksonville Area Legal Aid | Main Street Alliance | Media Alliance | National Consumer Law Center (on behalf of its low income clients) National Consumers League | National Fair Housing Alliance | New America's Open Technology Institute | Privacy Rights Clearinghouse | Public Citizen | Public Good Law Center | Public Justice | Public Knowledge | Public Law Center | Strategic Organizing Center | Texas Appleseed | truthinadvertising.org (TINA.org) | Tzedek DC | U.S. PIRG | Woodstock Institute

More Information

Politico, 'The Supreme Court ruled in favor of scam artists,' FTC chief says after justices gut agency's powers, April 22, 2021, https://www.politico.com/news/2021/04/22/9-0-supreme-court-ruling-guts-ftcs-ability-to-seek-redress-for-consumers-484194

Federal Trade Commission, New Data Shows FTC Received 2.2 Million Fraud Reports from Consumers in 2020, Feb. 4, 2021, https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2021/02/new-data-shows-ftc-received-2-2-million-fraud-reports-consumers

Download PDF

Congress asked to restore FTC’s monetary relief powers   (Groupltr_re_FTC13b_04262021.pdf)