Today, the Federal Trade Commission voted 4-1 to approve a policy statement affirming that its enforcement of Section 5 extends beyond violation of the antitrust laws and includes practices that “contravene the spirit” of the antitrust laws. Section 5 of the Fair Trade and Competition Act directs the FTC to prevent “unfair methods of competition in or affecting commerce.”
The following statement may be attributed to Gene Kimmelman, President and CEO of Public Knowledge:
“The FTC’s policy statement does not appear to add any meaningful consumer protection to the past Section 5 analysis and precedent the FTC has accumulated in the more than 100 years since Congress passed the Fair Trade and Competition Act. As modern antitrust law struggles to keep pace with the many ways companies can harm consumers and undermine competition in the digital marketplace, allowing Section 5 enforcement to continue to evolve becomes even more critical.
“Although we are concerned that some will read today's action as a new limitation on FTC enforcement practices, we hope the agency leadership will quickly demonstrate that this is not the case.”
You may view the FTC’s statement here.
Members of the media may contact Communications Director Shiva Stella with inquiries, interview requests, or to join the Public Knowledge press list at shiva@publicknowledge.org or 405-249-9435.