Federal Trade Commission Issues First-Ever Guidance On "Unfair Methods Of Competition"

Section 5 of the 1914 Federal Trade Commission Act declares that "unfair methods of competition in or affecting commerce" are unlawful. The Act also empowers the Commission to prevent persons, partnerships, and corporations from using "unfair" methods of competition. But the FTC, notes the Wall Street Journal, "has never formally defined what it means to compete unfairly."

Well, had never. On August 13, 2015, the FTC released a statement – its first ever— of three "principles" to which it "adheres" "[i]n deciding whether to challenge an act or practice as an unfair method of competition in violation of Section 5 on a standalone basis. . . ." The "principles" are as follows:

• the Commission will be guided by the public policy underlying the antitrust laws, namely, the promotion of consumer welfare;