On September 10, 2026, the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection (BCP or Bureau) announced a new BCP Rule Guidance Program (Program) that gives businesses, trade associations, and other stakeholders a new mechanism for bringing problems with FTC rules directly to the Bureau’s attention. The program invites submissions identifying genuine ambiguities in FTC rules, substantive conflicts between an FTC rule and an existing statute or another FTC rule, and other significant problems with the FTC rules.… Continue Reading
FTC, State of Connecticut secure $4 million settlement with vehicle dealership
The Federal Trade Commission and state of Connecticut recently secured a $4 million settlement with Chase Nissan LLC and its owners and management over allegations that the business was collecting fees without consumer authorization, including double charging for “certified pre-owned vehicles.”
The company did business as Manchester City Nissan. The Stipulated Order for a Permanent Injunction, Monetary Judgment and Other Relief was filed in the U.S.… Continue Reading
Online bill payment company Doxo settles FTC complaint
Online bill payment company Doxo will pay $2.1 million to settle an FTC complaint that alleged that the firm and two of its co-founders used misleading search advertising to impersonate consumers’ billers and misled consumers about junk fees they added to their bills.
According to a 2024 complaint, filed in the U.S.… Continue Reading
Credit repair network blocked
A federal judge has issued a Temporary Restraining Order blocking the operation of a network of 16 related companies and their principals that operated a credit repair business.
At the request of the FTC, Judge Steven Logan of the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona has blocked Credit Glory from conducting business.… Continue Reading
FTC Proposes Enforcement Policy on Personalized Pricing as States and Congress Move Toward Broader Restrictions
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has taken another important step in the rapidly developing debate over “surveillance pricing.” On August 19, the FTC issued for public comment a Proposed Enforcement Policy Statement Regarding Personalized Pricing, warning businesses that using consumers’ personal data to set individualized prices without adequate disclosure may violate Section 5 of the FTC Act. … Continue Reading
FTC Abandons Disparate Impact and “Unfair Discrimination” Theories: A Major Shift in Federal Consumer-Protection Law
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has taken a major step toward dismantling two theories of discrimination.
In a new Policy Statement Regarding Disparate-Impact Claims and “Unfair Discrimination” Claims, the FTC announces that it will no longer pursue disparate-impact claims under the FTC Act or the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA). Just as significantly, although less prominently emphasized in the Policy Statement, the FTC has now repudiated its position that the “unfairness” prong of Section 5 of the FTC Act independently authorizes the Commission to pursue discrimination claims.… Continue Reading
Operator of student loan debt forgiveness service would be barred from debt relief, telemarketing industries, under proposed FTC order
The FTC has announced that under a proposed order filed in Nevada federal court, Dennise Merdjanian, the operator of a student loan debt forgiveness service, would be permanently barred from the debt relief and telemarketing industries
The proposed order would resolve charges that she and other operators took more than $45.9 million from consumers as part of an allegedly illegal student loan debt relief operation.… Continue Reading
Hopper reaches $35 million agreement with the FTC
The FTC recently announced the settlement (subject to court approval) of an action premised in part on its Unfair and Deceptive Fees Rule (the so-called “Junk Fee Rule”
The FTC and the companies that operate the Hopper travel apps reached an agreement that would require the companies to pay $35 million.… Continue Reading
FTC Takes Aim at AI Accuracy
The Federal Trade Commission recently issued a proposed policy statement that could reshape how financial services firms use AI-powered tools. The proposed statement, titled “Proposed Policy Statement Concerning the Suppression of Accuracy in Artificial Intelligence Systems,” puts AI developers on notice that altering AI outputs away from accuracy, even if done to comply with a state law, may constitute consumer deception under Section 5 of the FTC Act.… Continue Reading
Justices Roberts and Gorsuch cast doubt on the FTC’s UDAP rulemaking authority in Trump v. Slaughter
We have, of course, already blogged about the Supreme Court’s holding in Trump v. Slaughter, 25-332 (2026). One aspect of the decision, however, deserves separate attention because it may foreshadow future challenges to one of the FTC’s, and perhaps the CFPB’s, most significant sources of regulatory authority.
Although not necessary to the Court’s holding, Chief Justice Roberts and, even more pointedly, Justice Gorsuch questioned the extraordinary breadth of the Federal Trade Commission’s authority to define by regulation what constitutes an “unfair or deceptive act or practice” under Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act.… Continue Reading