On November 18, 2021, the United States Chamber of Commerce sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) raising concern about its issuance of Penalty Offense Authority Letters sent to 1,800 companies last month, including direct sellers.
The letter questions the legal authority of the Commission to send the letters and objected to the vast number of American businesses being named.
A second letter was sent to the Chairs and Ranking Members of the committees of jurisdiction on Capitol Hill objecting to language in the Build Back Better Act that that would expand the FTC’s Civil Penalty Authority without any guardrails.
DSA alerted the Chamber to both issues and provided direct input on the content of these letters.
The Penalty Offense Authority letter can be found here.
The provision objecting to the provision in the Build Back Better Act can be found here.