Federal Trade Commission

US consumers reported about $16 billion in fraud losses during 2025, the highest level in the FTC's public data, while imposter scams alone accounted for about $3.5 billion FTC, Jun 2026 (opens in a new tab). The Federal Trade Commission enforces federal competition and consumer-protection law, giving it influence over mergers, privacy, advertising, scams and market conduct.

Accountability. Under former chair Lina Khan, the agency pursued an expansive competition agenda and finalized a nationwide noncompete rule. A federal district court later stopped that rule, and the FTC says it is not in effect or enforceable; the agency moved to dismiss its appeal in 2025 FTC noncompete rule (opens in a new tab). That outcome is a concrete limit on agency rulemaking power, not merely a political disagreement.

Human cost and effect. Consumer-protection work reaches people losing savings to scams, children whose data are collected online and workers constrained by employment contracts. The FTC's 2025 data counted roughly three million fraud reports and $15.9 billion in reported losses FTC testimony, Mar 2026 (opens in a new tab). The agency also finalized the COPPA children's-privacy update and pursued data brokers selling sensitive location data.

Contradiction. The FTC argues that strong intervention protects competition and consumers, but courts can reject rules that exceed delegated authority. A broad rule may address a real market problem while still fail legally if the agency uses the wrong mechanism. The noncompete episode is therefore both a labor-market policy fight and an administrative-law warning.

Connections and receipts. FTC data show that nearly 30% of people who reported losing money to a scam in 2025 said it began on social media, with reported losses of about $2.1 billion FTC Data Spotlight (opens in a new tab). The commission also reviews mergers and can challenge deals before or after closing, making its competition role broader than consumer scams. Changes in enforcement philosophy can therefore affect workers, suppliers and rival firms even when no consumer refund case is involved.

What's next. The next test is whether the commission can convert large consumer-loss datasets into effective cases and durable rules that survive judicial review. Merger enforcement, privacy cases and fraud recovery will show whether that strategy produces remedies consumers can actually see.

Fairness. The strongest defense is that markets with concentrated power and sophisticated fraud often require an aggressive regulator; the evidence still requires the FTC to stay within statutory authority and prove harm with reliable evidence.

Questions people ask

What does the FTC do? It enforces federal competition and consumer-protection law and collects large datasets on fraud and market complaints.

Did the FTC ban noncompete agreements? It issued a rule, but the rule was blocked in federal court and is not currently in effect.

What is COPPA? It is the federal children's online privacy law whose implementing rule is enforced and updated by the FTC.