Federal Trade Commissioners (FTC's)

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Sunday, 30 October 2016 09:38
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What We Do: The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) - Signed into law by Woodrow Wilson in 1913, outlaws unfair methods of competition and outlaws unfair acts or practices that affect commerce. Is a bipartisan federal agency with a unique dual mission to protect consumers and promote competition, established in 1914 by the Federal Trade Commission Act.

For one hundred years, our collegial and consensus-driven agency has championed the interests of American consumers. As we begin our second century, the FTC is dedicated to advancing consumer interests while encouraging innovation and competition in our dynamic economy. Wikipedia:> The inspiration and motivation for this act started in 1890, when the Sherman Act was passed. This era in time was an antitrust movement to prevent manufacturers from joining price-fixing cartels.[1] After the case Northern Securities Co. v. United States, which dismantled a J. P. Morgan company, antitrust enforcement became institutionalized.[1] Soon after, Roosevelt created the Bureau of Corporations, an agency that reported on the economy and businesses in the industry.[1]

Source: Wikipedia: "A bank's primary federal regulator could be the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Reserve Board, or the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Within the Federal Reserve System are 12 districts centered around 12 regional Federal Reserve Banks, each of which carries out the Federal Reserve Board's regulatory responsibilities in its respective district. Credit unions are subject to most bank regulations and are supervised by the National Credit Union Administration. The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) establishes uniform principles, standards, and report forms for the other agencies."

This agency was the predecessor to the Federal Trade Commission. In 1913, President Wilson expanded on this agency by passing the Federal Trade Commissions Act along with the Clayton Antitrust Act.[1] The Federal Trade Commission Act was designed for business reform. Congress passed this Act with the hopes of protecting consumers against methods of deception in advertisement, forcing the business to be upfront and truthful about items being sold.

The FTC develops policy and research tools through hearings, workshops, and conferences. We collaborate with law enforcement partners across the country and around the world to advance our crucial consumer protection and competition missions. And beyond our borders, we cooperate with international agencies and organizations to protect consumers in the global marketplace.

Protecting Consumers: The FTC protects consumers by stopping unfair, deceptive or fraudulent practices in the marketplace. We conduct investigations, sue companies and people that violate the law, develop rules to ensure a vibrant marketplace, and educate consumers and businesses about their rights and responsibilities. We collect complaints about hundreds of issues from data security and deceptive advertising to identity theft and Do Not Call violations, and make them available to law enforcement agencies worldwide for follow-up. Our experienced and motivated staff uses 21st century tools to anticipate – and respond to – changes in the marketplace.

Promoting Competition: Competition in America is about price, selection, and service. It benefits consumers by keeping prices low and the quality and choice of goods and services high. By enforcing antitrust laws, the FTC helps ensure that our markets are open and free. The FTC will challenge anti-competitive mergers and business practices that could harm consumers by resulting in higher prices, lower quality, fewer choices, or reduced rates of innovation. We monitor business practices, review potential mergers, and challenge them when appropriate to ensure that the market works according to consumer preferences, not illegal practices.

Source: https://www.ftc.gov/about-ftc/what-we-do  MORE: Commissioner Biographies

•Federal Communications Commission - Homepage      •Enforcement Authority      •Our History     •Reports & Research     •Bureaus & Offices     •Biographies    •Budgets     •Financial Documents

•Other Financial Information    •Recovery Act     •Procurement     •Audited Annual Financial Statements     •Inspector General Audits    •Inspector General Audits     •FTC Conference Expenses in FY 15 (PDF)    •FTC Conference Expenses in FY 14 (PDF)
    •Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)     •Performance    •Office of Inspector General

• Six (5) Commissioners Overall Source Page: •Federal Trade Commissioners   •Office of Inspector General

• 1. Edith Ramirez, Chairwoman - Sworn in as a Commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission on April 5, 2010, and was designated to serve as FTC Chairwoman effective March 4, 2013 by President Barack Obama.

At the FTC, Chairwoman Ramirez has focused on protecting consumers and promoting competition in the technology and healthcare sectors, safeguarding consumer privacy, and protecting vulnerable communities from deceptive and unfair practices. 

During Chairwoman Ramirez’s tenure, the FTC has filed over 200 consumer protection and competition-related enforcement actions, obtaining more than one billion dollars in redress for consumers across the country and preventing anti-competitive consolidation and conduct. The Commission has also held numerous workshops and issued reports and guidance on a wide range of issues, including the Internet of Things, big data, data brokers, data security, health care, the sharing economy, online marketing, and debt collection. The Chairwoman’s “Every Community Initiative” aims to ensure that the FTC’s efforts reach and protect the communities that are most affected by fraud and illegal conduct.

Chairwoman Ramirez has testified before Congress on competition, privacy, and data security issues. She has also actively participated in various multilateral international forums, including the International Competition Network, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, Asia-Pacific Privacy Authorities Forum, Latin American Competition Forum, and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Data Privacy Subgroup, which developed the APEC Cross-Border Privacy Rules system. 

Ramirez is a recipient of the 2015 Trumpeter Award from the National Consumers League, awarded in recognition of her leadership and commitment to protecting American consumers and working families. She is also an Advisory Board member of Harvard University’s Journal of Technology Science.

Prior to joining the Commission, Ramirez was a litigation partner in the Los Angeles office of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP. Before that, Ramirez was an associate at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, LLP in Los Angeles. She clerked for the Hon. Alfred T. Goodwin in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Throughout her career, Ramirez has been active in a variety of professional and community activities, including serving on the Board of Commissioners for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, the nation’s largest municipal utility.

Ramirez graduated from Harvard Law School cum laude, where she served as an editor of the Harvard Law Review, and holds an A.B. in History magna cum laude from Harvard College. She is a native of Southern California.

Chairman Wheeler is a proud graduate of The Ohio State University and the recipient of its Alumni Medal. He resides in Washington, D.C.

Source - Ramirez Biography, etc.

• 2. Maureen K. Ohlhausen - Sworn in by President Barack Obama as a Commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission on April 4, 2012, to a term that expires in September 2018.

Prior to joining the Commission, Ohlhausen was a partner at Wilkinson Barker Knauer, LLP, where she focused on FTC issues, including privacy, data protection, and cybersecurity.

Ohlhausen previously served at the Commission for 11 years, most recently as Director of the Office of Policy Planning from 2004 to 2008, where she led the FTC's Internet Access Task Force. She was also Deputy Director of that office. From 1998 to 2001, Ohlhausen was an attorney advisor for former FTC Commissioner Orson Swindle, advising him on competition and consumer protection matters. She started at the FTC General Counsel’s Office in 1997.

Before coming to the FTC, Ohlhausen spent five years at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, serving as a law clerk for Judge David B. Sentelle and as a staff attorney. Ohlhausen also clerked for Judge Robert Yock of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims from 1991 to 1992.

Ohlhausen graduated with distinction from George Mason University School of Law in 1991 and graduated with honors from the University of Virginia in 1984.

Ohlhausen was on the adjunct faculty at George Mason University School of Law, where she taught privacy law and unfair trade practices. She served as a Senior Editor of the Antitrust Law Journal and a member of the American Bar Association Task Force on Competition and Public Policy. She has authored a variety of articles on competition law, privacy, and technology matters.

Ohlhausen lives in Virginia with her husband, Peter. They have four children.

Source - Clyburn Biography, etc.

3. Terrell McSweeny - Sworn in as a Commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission by President Barack Obama on April 28, 2014, to a term that expires in September 2017.

Prior to joining the Commission, McSweeny served as Chief Counsel for Competition Policy and Intergovernmental Relations for the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division. She joined the Antitrust Division after serving as Deputy Assistant to the President (Obama) and Domestic Policy Advisor to the Vice President from January 2009 until February 2012, advising President Obama and Vice President Biden on policy in a variety of areas, including health care, innovation, intellectual property, energy, education, women’s rights, criminal justice and domestic violence.

McSweeny’s government service also includes her work as Senator Joe Biden’s Deputy Chief of Staff and Policy Director in the U.S. Senate, where she managed domestic and economic policy development and legislative initiatives, and as Counsel on the Senate Judiciary Committee, where she worked on issues such as criminal justice, innovation, women's rights, domestic violence, judicial nominations and immigration and civil rights. She also worked as an attorney at O'Melveny & Myers LLP.

McSweeny is a graduate of Harvard University and Georgetown University Law School.

     Source - McSweeny Biography

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