The Federal Trade Commission today issued a report to Congress detailing the FTC\u2019s law enforcement cooperation with state attorneys general (AGs) nationwide and presenting best practices to ensure continued effective collaboration.<\/p>\n
The report, directed by the FTC Collaboration Act of 2021, \u201cWorking Together to Protect Consumers: A Study and Recommendations on FTC Collaboration with the State Attorneys General\u201d<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>makes legislative recommendations that would enhance these efforts, including reinstating the Commission\u2019s authority to seek money for defrauded consumers and providing it with the independent authority to seek civil penalties.<\/p>\n \u201cToday\u2019s consumer protection challenges require an all-hands-on-deck response, and our report details how the FTC is working closely with state enforcers to share information, stop fraud, and ensure fairness in the marketplace,\u201d said Samuel Levine, Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection. \u201cWe look forward to seeking new opportunities to strengthen these ties and confront the challenges of the future.\u201d<\/p>\n In June 2023, the\u00a0Commission\u00a0announced<\/a> a\u00a0request for public information (RFI)\u00a0seeking public comments and suggestions on\u00a0ways it can work more effectively with state AGs to help educate consumers about, and protect them from, potential fraud. After reviewing and analyzing the comments received, the agency developed the report to Congress issued today.<\/p>\n The report is divided into three sections: 1) The FTC\u2019s Existing Collaborative Efforts with State Attorneys General to Prevent, Publicize, and Penalize Frauds and Scams; 2) Recommended Best Practices to Enhance Collaboration; and 3) Legislative Recommendations to Enhance Collaboration Efforts.<\/p>\n The first section lays out the roles and responsibilities of the FTC and state AGs in protecting consumers from frauds and scams, provides an overview of their respective law enforcement authority, and discusses how federal and state enforcers share their information and expertise to facilitate effective communication and cooperation. It also provides a breakdown of the FTC\u2019s structure and a description of the Consumer Sentinel consumer complaint database, the largest such information-sharing network in the United States.<\/p>\n The second section details best practices used to enhance strong information-sharing between the FTC and its state law enforcement partners, discusses how the Commission coordinates joint and parallel enforcement actions with state AGs and other state consumer protection agencies, and presents ideas on expanding the sharing of expertise and technical resources between agencies.<\/p>\n Finally, the third section stresses the legislative need to restore the FTC\u2019s Section 13(b) authority to seek equitable monetary refunds for injured consumers, presents ways to enhance collaboration and conserve resources by providing the Commission with the independent authority to seek civil penalties, and describes the agency\u2019s need for clear authority to pursue legal actions against those who assist and facilitate unfair or deceptive acts or practices.<\/p>\n The Commission vote approving the report to Congress was 3-0-2, with\u00a0Commissioners Melissa Holyoak and Andrew N. Ferguson not participating. Chair Lina M. Khan issued a separate statement<\/a>,\u00a0<\/strong>in which she was joined by Commissioners Rebecca Kelly Slaughter and Alvaro M. Bedoya. Commissioner Slaughter also issued a separate statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n The lead staff attorneys on this matter are Robert Quigley and Miles Freeman in the FTC\u2019s Western Region Los Angeles.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Federal Trade Commission today issued a report to Congress detailing the FTC\u2019s law enforcement cooperation with state attorneys general (AGs) nationwide and presenting best practices to ensure continued effective collaboration. The report, directed by the FTC Collaboration Act of 2021, \u201cWorking Together to Protect Consumers: A Study and Recommendations on FTC Collaboration with the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7935","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pbtNqq-23Z","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":10709,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/ftc-issues-annual-report-to-congress-on-agencys-actions-to-protect-older-adults-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":7935,"position":0},"title":"FTC Issues Annual Report to Congress on Agency\u2019s Actions to Protect Older Adults","author":"jmayfield","date":"October 18, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"The Federal Trade Commission has issued its latest report to Congress on protecting older adults, which highlights key trends based on fraud reports by older adults, and the FTC\u2019s multipronged efforts to combat the problem through law enforcement actions, rulemaking, and outreach and education programs.The report, Protecting Older Consumers, 2023-2024,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8502,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/ftc-releases-fiscal-year-2023-annual-report\/","url_meta":{"origin":7935,"position":1},"title":"FTC Releases Fiscal Year 2023 Annual Report","author":"bacree","date":"May 15, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Following Public Service Recognition Week, the Federal Trade Commission released its Fiscal Year 2023 Annual Report outlining the agency\u2019s work to protect consumers and promote competition.\u201cThe FTC is focused on ensuring that American consumers, workers, and entrepreneurs can enjoy honest markets and the economic liberty that fair and free competition\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6631,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/ftc-issues-biennial-report-to-congress-on-the-national-do-not-call-registry\/","url_meta":{"origin":7935,"position":2},"title":"FTC Issues Biennial Report to Congress on the National Do Not Call Registry","author":"bacree","date":"January 8, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"The Federal Trade Commission issued its biennial report to Congress on the National Do Not Call (DNC) Registry\u00a0that shows the number of consumers who have placed their telephone numbers on the Registry over the past two years has reached more than 249 million. The report also notes that the FTC\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/badge-explore-data-dnc1.jpg?fit=600%2C375&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/badge-explore-data-dnc1.jpg?fit=600%2C375&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/badge-explore-data-dnc1.jpg?fit=600%2C375&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7051,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/as-nationwide-fraud-losses-top-10-billion-in-2023-ftc-steps-up-efforts-to-protect-the-public\/","url_meta":{"origin":7935,"position":3},"title":"As Nationwide Fraud Losses Top $10 Billion in 2023, FTC Steps Up Efforts to Protect the Public","author":"jmayfield","date":"February 9, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Newly released Federal Trade Commission data show that consumers reported losing more than $10 billion to fraud in 2023, marking the first time that fraud losses have reached that benchmark. 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