FTC Announces Internal Process Reforms In Connection With Civil Investigative Demands

Has your company or client been served with a Civil Investigative Demand (CID)? Overwhelmed? Don't despair – the future may be brighter, as the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is now offering more clarity regarding its CID document requests process. On July 17, 2017 FTC Acting Chairman Maureen K. Ohlhausen issued a new internal process reform aimed at promoting clarity, efficiency and transparency, and designed to "reduce unnecessary and undue burdens" associated with FTC investigations.

The reform specifically addresses CIDs in consumer protection cases, and includes a plain-language explanation of the CID process and a more elaborate description of the purpose, scope and types of information sought by the FTC, so recipients can better comply and respond. The FTC will also work to lighten the burden on companies by limiting relevant time periods, expanding the response time and revising existing CID instructions for the production of electronically stored