Federal Trade Commission

Pages370-373
370 U.S. GOVERNMENT MANUAL
FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington,DC 20580
Phone, 202–326–2222. Internet, http://www.ftc.gov.
Chairman JON LEIBOWITZ
Commissioners J. THOMAS ROSCH,EDITH RAMIREZ,
JULIE BRILL,(VACANCY)
Chief of Staff JONI LUPOVITZ
Executive Director EILEEN HARRINGTON
Chief Administrative Law Judge D. MICHAEL CHAPPELL
Director, Bureau of Competition RICHARD A. FEINSTEIN
Director, Bureau of Consumer Protection DAVID VLADECK
Director, Bureau of Economics JOSEPH FARRELL
Director, Off‌ice of Congressional Relations JEANNE BUMPUS
Director, Off‌ice of International Affairs RANDOLPH W. TRITELL
Director, Off‌ice of Policy Planning SUSAN S. DESANTI
Director, Off‌ice of Public Affairs CECELIA PREWETT
General Counsel WILLARD K. TOM
Inspector General JOHN SEEBA
Secretary of the Commission DONALD S. CLARK
[For the Federal TradeCommission statement of organization, see the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 16,
Part 0]
The Federal Trade Commission promotes consumer protections and enforces the laws
that prohibit anticompetitive, deceptive, or unfair business practices.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
was established in 1914 by the Federal
Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C.
41–58). The Commission comprises f‌ive
members appointed by the President,
with the advice and consent of the
Senate, for a term of 7 years. No 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
FTC promotes competition and prevents
general trade restraints such as price-
f‌ixing agreements, boycotts, illegal
combinations of competitors, and other
unfair methods of competition; prevents
corporate mergers, acquisitions, or
joint ventures that lessen competition
or build a monopoly; and prevents
pricing discrimination, exclusive dealing,
tying arrangements, and interlocking
directorates or off‌icers’ positions that may
restrain competition.
In addition, the FTC works to protect
consumers from unfair, deceptive, or
fraudulent practices in the marketplace.
The agency enforces the Nation’s
truth-in-advertising laws; targets illegal
practices in the f‌inancial services
industry, including unfair or deceptive
credit counseling, debt assistance, and
debt collection practices; halts fraudulent
telemarketing schemes; combats fraud
on the Internet and scams utilizing
new technologies; works to safeguard
the privacy of consumers’ personal
information; enforces the National Do-
Not-Call Registry; and works to prevent
identity theft and to aid consumers whose
identities have been stolen. The agency
educates consumers about their rights
and how to spot and avoid fraud, and
businesses about their responsibilities
under Commission rules. FTC is also
responsible for gathering factual data
concerning economic and business
conditions and making it available to
Congress, the President, and the general
public.
Competition FTC promotes competition
in the American economy. It seeks to

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