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 William E. Kovacic
Chief of Staff Sarah Mathias
Commissioners Pamela Jones Harbour, William E. Kovacic, Jonathan Leibowitz, J. Thomas Rosch,
(vacancy)
Executive Director Charles Schneider
Deputy Executive Director Sonna Stampone
Chief Information Officer Stanley Lowe
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 Baye
Deputy Directors Mark Frankena, Paul A. Pautler
General Counsel William Blumenthal
Principal Deputy General Counsel David C. Shonka
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 John Seeba
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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 illegal or...
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