Federal Trade Commission – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The consent agreement in this matter settles alleged violations of federal law prohibiting unfair or deceptive acts or practices. The attached Analysis to Aid Public Comment describes both the allegations in the draft complaint and the terms of the consent orderembodied in the consent agreementthat would settle these allegations.

The FTC intends to ask the Office of Management and Budget (``OMB'') to extend for an additional three years the current Paperwork Reduction Act (``PRA'') clearance for the FTC's enforcement of the information collection requirements in four consumer financial regulations enforced by the Commission. Those clearances expire on June 30, 2015.

The consent agreement in this matter settles alleged violations of federal law prohibiting unfair or deceptive acts or practices. The attached Analysis to Aid Public Comment describes both the allegations in the draft complaint and the terms of the consent orderembodied in the consent agreementthat would settle these allegations.

The consent agreement in this matter settles alleged violations of federal law prohibiting unfair or deceptive acts or practices. The attached Analysis to Aid Public Comment describes both the allegations in the draft complaint and the terms of the consent orderembodied in the consent agreementthat would settle these allegations.

The Federal Trade Commission published final rules on March 23, 2015, revising certain of its rules of practice. This document makes a technical correction to those final rules.

The consent agreement in this matter settles alleged violations of federal law prohibiting unfair or deceptive acts or practices. The attached Analysis to Aid Public Comment describes both the allegations in the draft complaint and the terms of the consent orderembodied in the consent agreementthat would settle these allegations.

The Commission is revising certain of its rules of practice to promote fairness, flexibility and efficiency in its investigations, studies, and adjudicative proceedings. These rule revisions include a revision to the rule governing the status of cases in administrative adjudication following a district court's denial of preliminary injunctive relief in an ancillary proceeding. Other changes include revisions to the list of Commission officials who have authority to modify the terms and timeframe for compliance with compulsory process, and a change to the deadline for the Commission to dispose of petitions to limit or quash compulsory process. In addition, the Commission is updating its procedures for accessing public records and list of exempt Privacy Act systems.

The Federal Trade Commission (``FTC'') announces a prize competition that challenges the public to create a crowd-source robocall honeypot. A honeypot is an information system that is designed to attract perpetrators of illegal actsin this case robocallersand gain knowledge about their tactics. The Contest will be held in two phases, a ``Qualifying'' phase and ``Final'' phase (see Section 7). The Final phase will be held at DEF CON 23, a conference of information security specialists, in Las Vegas, Nevada, from August 6-9, 2015.

The consent agreement in this matter settles alleged violations of federal law prohibiting unfair or deceptive acts or practices. The attached Analysis to Aid Public Comment describes both the allegations in the draft complaint and the terms of the consent orderembodied in the consent agreementthat would settle these allegations.

The consent agreement in this matter settles alleged violations of federal law prohibiting unfair methods of competition. The attached Analysis to Aid Public Comment describes both the allegations in the draft complaint and the terms of the consent ordersembodied in the consent agreementthat would settle these allegations.

The FTC is making technical revisions to several of the notices that it is required to publish under the Privacy Act of 1974 to describe its systems of records about individuals. This action is intended to make these notices clearer, more accurate, and up-to-date.

The consent agreement in this matter settles alleged violations of federal law prohibiting unfair methods of competition. The attached Analysis to Aid Public Comment describes both the allegations in the draft complaint and the terms of the consent ordersembodied in the consent agreementthat would settle these allegations.

The consent agreement in this matter settles alleged violations of federal law prohibiting unfair or deceptive acts or practices. The attached Analysis to Aid Public Comment describes both the allegations in the draft complaint and the terms of the consent orderembodied in the consent agreementthat would settle these allegations.

The consent agreement in this matter settles alleged violations of federal law prohibiting unfair methods of competition. The attached Analysis to Aid Public Comment describes both the allegations in the draft complaint and the terms of the consent order embodied in the consent agreementthat would settle these allegations.

The Federal Trade Commission (``FTC'' or ``Commission'') will hold a second public workshop on February 24-25, 2015, as part of the workshop series, ``Examining Health Care Competition,'' \1\ to study recent developments related to health care provider organization and payment models that may affect competition and consumer protection in the provision of health care services. The workshop will be co-hosted by the Department of Justice, Antitrust Division (``DOJ''). Specific topics for discussion may include: early observations regarding accountable care organizations; alternatives to traditional fee-for- service payment models; trends in provider consolidation; trends in provider network and benefit design strategies, as well as contracting practices and regulatory activity that may enhance or undermine these strategies; and early observations regarding health insurance exchanges. This notice invites public comments on a series of topics. The FTC and DOJ (the ``Agencies'') will consider these comments as they prepare for the workshop and may use them in subsequent reports or policy papers, if any. For additional information, visit the workshop Web site at https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/events-calendar/2015/02/ examining-health-care-competition or https://www.justice.gov/atr/public/ workshops/healthcare/2015/02/.

In a November 28, 2014, Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (``SNPRM''), the FTC proposed further amendments to the Used Motor Vehicle Trade Regulation Rule (``Rule'' or ``Used Car Rule'') following a review of public comments concerning its December 2012 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (``NPRM''). In response to a December 31, 2014, request, the Commission is extending the comment period announced in the November 2014 SNPRM from January 30, 2015, to March 17, 2015.

The information collection requirements described below will be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). The FTC seeks public comments on its proposal to extend, for three years, the current PRA clearance for information collection requirements contained in the rules and regulations under the Fur Products Labeling Act (``Fur Rules''), 16 CFR 301. This clearance expires on April 30, 2015.

The Federal Trade Commission announces the revised thresholds for interlocking directorates required by the 1990 amendment of Section 8 of the Clayton Act. Section 8 prohibits, with certain exceptions, one person from serving as a director or officer of two competing corporations if two thresholds are met. Competitor corporations are covered by Section 8 if each one has capital, surplus, and undivided profits aggregating more than $10,000,000, with the exception that no corporation is covered if the competitive sales of either corporation are less than $1,000,000. Section 8(a)(5) requires the Federal Trade Commission to revise those thresholds annually, based on the change in gross national product. The new thresholds, which take effect immediately, are $31,084,000 for Section 8(a)(1), and $3,108,400 for Section 8(a)(2)(A).

The Federal Trade Commission amends the Rule Concerning Cooling-Off Period for Sales Made at Homes or at Certain Other Locations (``Cooling-Off Rule'' or ``Rule''). The final Rule adopts with modifications the Commission's proposal to increase the exclusionary limit for all door-to-door sales. Under the final Rule, the revised definition of ``door-to-door sale'' distinguishes between sales at a buyer's residence and those at other locations. First, the revised definition retains coverage for sales made at a buyer's residence that have a purchase price of $25 or more. Second, the revised definition covers sales at other locations that have a purchase price of $130 or more.

The consent agreement in this matter settles alleged violations of federal law prohibiting deceptive acts or practices. The attached Analysis to Aid Public Comment describes both the allegations in the draft complaint and the terms of the consent orderembodied in the consent agreementthat would settle these allegations.

The consent agreement in this matter settles alleged violations of federal law prohibiting unfair methods of competition. The attached Analysis to Aid Public Comment describes both the allegations in the draft complaint and the terms of the consent order embodied in the consent agreementthat would settle these allegations.

Consistent with proposed amendments published in a June 18, 2014 Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (SNPRM), the Commission updates its label requirements for heating and cooling equipment and removes information from furnace labels about regional conservation standards.