The FTC's Mission Statement For 2022-2026: "Legitimate Business Activity" Still Missing In Action

Last November, the FTC sought public comment on a draft strategic plan for 2022-2026. As we blogged here and discussed in a comment submitted to the FTC (one of only 21 submitted), a key change from prior strategic plans was deletion of the phrase "without unduly burdening legitimate business activity" from the FTC's Mission Statement - a change that the Commission majority just adopted in its final Strategic Plan for 2022-2026.

Here's the Mission Statement from the FY 2018-2022 plan, which generally tracks wording that the FTC has used for decades:

• Protecting consumers and competition by preventing anticompetitive, deceptive, and unfair business practices through law enforcement, advocacy, and education without unduly burdening legitimate business activity (emphasis added).