The FTC rounded out May by providing its annual report to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, highlighting the Commission’s efforts related to the Truth in Lending Act (TILA), Consumer Leasing Act (CLA), and Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA).

In mid-March, the FTC continued to back consumers’ right to repair, submitting a comment with the DOJ’s Antitrust Division to the U.S. Copyright Office in support of renewing and expanding exemptions for repair in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). The Commission is refunding consumers who were misled into purchasing goods, making student loan payments, and charitable donations for cancer patients. In the first FTC enforcement action of its kind, a supplements company faces penalties for “hijacking” another product’s reviews as its own to boost sales. The Commission highlighted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for the EnergyGuide Labeling Rule and Telemarketing Sales Rule. Members of the public are invited to join an open Commission meeting on March 21, 2024. Finally, the FTC appointed a new Administrative Law Judge, Jay L. Himes. More news on the FTC’s busy week, after the jump.

The FTC has been active despite being in the midst of the holiday season. The Commission and the DOJ released its 2023 Merger Guidelines as well as a FY 2022 report detailing data on the HSR Premerger Notification Program. The Bureau of Consumer Protection was also active this week. It announced a new report summarizing key takeaways from an October 2023 roundtable examining the impact of generative artificial intelligence. The Commission also announced a new notice of proposed rulemaking and an extension to an existing proposed rulemaking related to consumer protection issues. These stories and more after the jump.

The FTC amended the Safeguards Rule to require non-banking institutions to report certain data breaches. Also, the FTC enforced actions against defendants who misleadingly marked up the cost of cars and who falsely claimed that its products could stop harmful bacteria and viruses. More on these updates, after the jump.

After a slower start in August, the FTC has been busy with actions taken to protect everyday consumers who have been the victims of organized schemes intended to mislead them. The FTC also announced the appointment of a new Director of the Bureau of Competition This and more, after the jump.

The FTC started the new year with a proposed new rule that would ban employers from imposing non-competes on their workers. It also announced increases to civil penalties connected to various federal provisions. These stories after the jump.