FTC Announces "Enforcement Principles" Governing Section 5 Competition Authority

This week, FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez announced that the FTC had voted to issue a formal statement setting forth three "Enforcement Principles" governing its authority over "unfair methods of competition." As Ramirez explained them, the principles that guide the FTC, when determining what conduct constitutes a "standalone" Section 5 violation, are as follows:

1. The FTC will act with the goal of promoting consumer welfare, as that term is understood in established antitrust jurisprudence;
2. The FTC will consider whether conduct harms competition or the competitive process, factoring in any pro-competitive efficiencies or legitimate business justifications; and
3. The FTC will be less likely to invoke its standalone Section 5 authority when its powers to enforce the Sherman Act and/or Clayton Act would be sufficient.