The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States

government, established in 1914 by the Federal Trade Commission Act. Its principal
mission is the promotion of "consumer protection" and the elimination and prevention
of what regulators perceive to be harmfully "anti-competitive" business practices,
such as coercive monopoly.

The Federal Trade Commission Act was one of President Wilson's major acts against
trusts. Trusts and trust-busting were significant political concerns during the
Progressive Era. Since its inception, the FTC has enforced the provisions of the
Clayton Act, a key antitrust statute, as well as the provisions of the FTC Act, 15
U.S.C. § 41 et seq. Over time, the FTC has been delegated the enforcement of
additional business regulation statutes and has promulgated a number of regulations
(codified in Title 16 of the Code of Federal Regulations).

Bureau of Consumer Protection

The Bureau of Consumer Protection’s mandate is to protect consumers against unfair

or deceptive acts or practices in commerce. With the written consent of the
Commission, Bureau attorneys enforce federal laws related to consumer affairs as
well as rules promulgated by the FTC. Its functions include investigations,
enforcement actions, and consumer and business education. Areas of principal
concern for this bureau are: advertising and marketing, financial products and
practices, telemarketing fraud, privacy and identity protection etc. The bureau also is
responsible for the United States National Do Not Call Registry.

Under the FTC Act, the Commission has the authority, in most cases, to bring its
actions in federal court through its own attorneys. In some consumer protection
matters, the FTC appears with, or supports, the U.S. Department of Justice.
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Bureau of Competition

The Bureau of Competition is the division of the FTC charged with elimination and
prevention of "anticompetitive" business practices. It accomplishes this through the
enforcement of antitrust laws, review of proposed mergers, and investigation into
other non-merger business practices that may impair competition. Such non-merger
practices include horizontal restraints, involving agreements between direct
competitors, and vertical restraints, involving agreements among businesses at
different levels in the same industry (such as suppliers and commercial buyers).

The FTC shares enforcement of antitrust laws with the Department of Justice.
However, while the FTC is responsible for civil enforcement of antitrust laws, the
Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice has the power to bring both civil and
criminal action in antitrust matters.