Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
The US federal agency for consumer protection and competition, and a leading privacy enforcer.
Overview
The FTC enforces the prohibition on unfair or deceptive acts or practices in commerce, competition law alongside the DOJ, and specific laws on privacy, children’s data and financial data security for non-banks.
Its powers include writing binding rules and investigating and imposing penalties.
In the United States it works at federal level, alongside DOJ Antitrust Division. Instruments connected to it in this glossary include Sherman Act.
Check the official sources below for legal scope, applicable dates and exceptions. This entry is an explanatory reference, not legal advice.
Why it matters
It can both set the rules and punish breaches of them, so its priorities shape compliance risk directly.
Who it affects
Organisations in competition, privacy data protection and technology in the United States.
Where it sits
Ten linked steps connect where you operate to the proof that you complied.
- 01Jurisdiction
- 02Industry
- 03Activity
- 04Authority
- 05Regulation
- 06Requirement
- 07Guidance
- 08Control
- 09Evidence
- 10Enforcement
Connections
The terms most closely tied to FTC. Select one to open it.
What to do about it
- 1Confirm whether FTC has power over you, and through which licence, registration, membership or activity.
- 2Follow its rules, guidance and enforcement publications as they are issued.
- 3Map each obligation it creates to a control with a named owner.
- 4Keep examination-ready evidence for its highest-risk obligations.
From requirement to evidence.
Regulation Layer tracks its publications in the change feed, maps its obligations to your controls, and links its enforcement actions to the obligations they cite.
Request early access →