Federal Trade Commission

• Pages: 424-429

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION

600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20580

Phone, 202-326-2222. Internet, www.ftc.gov.

Chairman Deborah P. Majoras

Chief of Staff Brian Huseman

Commissioners Pamela Jones Harbour, William E. Kovacic, Jonathan Leibowitz, J. Thomas Rosch

Executive Director Charles Schneider

Deputy Executive Director Sonna Stampone

Chief Information Officer Stephen Warren

Chief Financial Officer Steven Fisher

Director, Bureau of Competition Jeffrey Schmidt

Deputy Directors Kenneth L. Glazer, David P. Wales, Jr.

Director, Bureau of Consumer Protection Lydia B. Parnes

Deputy Directors Eileen Harrington, Mary Beth Richards

Director, Bureau of Economics Michael Salinger

Deputy Directors Mark Frankena, Paul A. Pautler

General Counsel William Blumenthal

Principal Deputy General Counsel John D. Graubert

Director, Office of Congressional Relations Jeanne Bumpus

Director, Office of International Affairs Randolph W. Tritell

Director, Office of Public Affairs Nancy Ness Judy

Director, Office of Policy Planning Maureen K. Ohlhausen

Secretary of the Commission Donald S. Clark

Chief Administrative Law Judge Stephen J. McGuire

Inspector General Howard L. Sribnick

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The Federal Trade Commission has jurisdiction to enhance consumer welfare and protect competition in broad sectors of the economy. The Commission enforces the laws that prohibit business practices that are anticompetitive, deceptive, or unfair to consumers; promotes informed consumer choice and public understanding of the competitive process; and seeks to accomplish its mission without impeding legitimate business activity.

The Federal Trade Commission was established in 1914 by the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41-58). The Commission is composed of five members appointed by the President, with the advice and consent of the Senate, for a term of 7 years. Not more than three of the Commissioners may be members of the same political party. One Commissioner is designated by the President as Chairman of the Commission and is responsible for its administrative management.

Activities

The Commission's principal functions include the following:

--promoting competition through the prevention of general trade restraints such as price-fixing agreements, boycotts, illegal combinations of competitors, and other unfair methods of competition;

--stopping corporate mergers, acquisitions, or joint ventures that may substantially lessen competition or tend to create a monopoly;

--preventing pricing discrimination, exclusive dealing, tying arrangements, and discrimination among competing customers by sellers;

--preventing interlocking directorates or officers' positions that may restrain competition;

--preventing the dissemination of false or deceptive advertisements of consumer products and services as well as other unfair or deceptive practices;

--promoting electronic commerce by stopping fraud on the Internet and working with other domestic and foreign agencies to develop and promote policies to safeguard online privacy of personal information;

--protecting the privacy of consumers' personal information to prevent...