US: FTC to clarify power over unfair competition

The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that we could expect to see a change and consolidation on the FTC’s position on “unfair competition”. The Federal Trade Commission in its 100-year history has never agreed on formal principles for policing companies engaged in “unfair” competition.

Members of the FTC are close to a bipartisan agreement to lay out for the first time how the commission views its authority to bring cases against businesses it believes compete unfairly, according to people familiar with the deliberations.

An accord would be a breakthrough for Democrat and Republican commissioners who have clashed over when and how the FTC should deploy the century-old Section 5 of the FTC Act in enforcement matters. The provision declares “unfair methods of competition in or affecting commerce” to be unlawful. But the agency has faced criticism that with no formal guidelines or parameters.

According to the Journal deliberations would emphasize a focus on consumer welfare and discuss how the FTC’s authority to police unfairness intersects with traditional antitrust laws prohibiting anticompetitive conduct. If commissioners vote for the agreement, it could be announced as soon as this week.

Full content: The Wall Street Journal

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