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Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Act
Practical Law Glossary Item w-007-7584 (Approx. 3 pages)
Glossary
Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Act
The section of the Federal Trade Commission Act prohibiting:
- Unfair methods of competition.
- Unfair or deceptive acts or practices.
Under Section 5(a), the FTC challenges business conduct that:
- Violates the Sherman Act or other federal antitrust laws.
- Harms competition, even if it does not violate other federal antitrust laws.
- Causes, or is likely to cause, substantial injury to consumers that cannot be reasonably avoided and is not offset by greater benefits to consumers or competition.
- Materially misleads or is likely to mislead consumers under reasonable circumstances.
Section 5 also allows the FTC to try claims in administrative hearings and obtain injunctive or other equitable relief for violations.
For more information on Section 5, see Practice Notes, FTC Act Section 5: Overview and Consumer Protection Overview: Federal Trade Commission