Chair, Federal Trade Commission.
Retweets, Follows, & Likes ≠ Endorsements.
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Dec 17 • 7 tweets • 2 min read
1. Earlier today, Illinois AG @KwameRaoul and I announced a law enforcement action against @Grubhub.
Our joint investigation found that, for years, Grubhub systematically cheated customers, deceived drivers, and undermined restaurant owners.
ftc.gov/news-events/ne…2. We found that Grubhub baited customers with the promise of free or low-cost delivery, then tacked on “service fees” & “small order fees” that were essentially delivery fees in disguise.
Top Grubhub executives described this deceptive fee structure as a “pricing shell game.”
Dec 17 • 9 tweets • 3 min read
1. People deserve to know upfront what price they’re being asked to pay, without worrying they’ll later be hit with mystery fees they can’t avoid.
Today @FTC finalized a rule to ban these junk fees for short-term lodging and live-event ticketing.
ftc.gov/news-events/ne…2. @FTC received thousands of comments in response to our proposal, with people sharing how prevalent, pesky, and costly these fees have become.
As one commenter put it, “Why is there a processing fee and a service fee? Isn’t the act of processing the service they are offering?”
Dec 3 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
1. Today @FTC banned data brokers Mobilewalla and Gravy Analytics from using & selling Americans’ sensitive location data, including details of visits to health clinics and churches.
This data was used to surveil political gatherings and attempt to monitor union organizers.
2. Mobilewalla exploited online ad auctions to pinpoint people's locations—and then sold that data to a range of third parties.
Mobilewalla also used this data to sell audience segments, including categories like "pregnant women" & "Hispanic churchgoers." ftc.gov/news-events/ne…
Oct 25 • 8 tweets • 2 min read
1. Firms that lure workers with false earnings claims are breaking the law.
@FTC has taken action against @Lyft for deceiving drivers about how much they could expect to earn on its platform.
We've ordered Lyft to stop this conduct & pay $2.1 million.
ftc.gov/news-events/ne…2. In 2021, Lyft faced a shortage of drivers. It responded with a marketing campaign that routinely inflated how much drivers could expect to earn through its platform—sometimes by as much as 30%. These false claims led to increased sign-ups, with more drivers joining Lyft.
Oct 16 • 10 tweets • 4 min read
1. Too often, businesses make people jump through endless hoops just to cancel a subscription.
Today @FTC finalized a rule requiring that businesses make it as easy to cancel a subscription as it is to sign up for one.
ftc.gov/news-events/ne…2. As more firms have pivoted to subscription-based revenue streams, we've seen a rise in seemingly unfair or deceptive subscription practices.
In 2021, an average of 42 consumers reported these tactics to the @FTC every single day. Now that number is closer to 70.
Sep 27 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
1. Using AI tools to trick, mislead, or defraud people is illegal.
This week @FTC announced an enforcement sweep against multiple firms that baselessly hyped their AI products or sold AI tools that turbocharged deceptive practices.
ftc.gov/news-events/ne…2. @FTC took action against Rytr for offering an AI reviews generator that let users produce tens of thousands of fake reviews online.
1. This week @FTC took action against Invitation Homes for advertising lower rents only to then saddle tenants with hundreds of dollars in junk fees.
The firm also unjustly withheld people's security deposits and unfairly exposed tenants to evictions.
ftc.gov/news-events/ne…2. In the wake of the financial crisis and the foreclosure of millions of homes, large institutional investors purchased thousands of single-family homes across the country.
Founded in 2012, Invitation Homes was previously owned by Blackstone, the major private equity firm.
Sep 2 • 11 tweets • 4 min read
1. On this Labor Day, a reminder that @FTC has issued a rule banning noncompetes.
Noncompetes trap millions of workers, blocking them from taking better jobs or starting their own business.
Over 25,000 Americans commented on our proposal. Here are some of their stories:
2. A young bartender in Florida was sexually harassed at her job. When she left for a job at another bar, her boss threatened to enforce a noncompete that had been buried in the paperwork. No longer able to endure the abuse, she left anyway—and got hit with a $30k lawsuit.
Aug 14 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
1. People rely on online reviews to make informed purchases and compare products.
When companies use fake reviews, consumers get misled and honest businesses lose out.
Today @FTC finalized a rule to prohibit fake reviews.
ftc.gov/news-events/ne…2. Firms can use fake reviews to game the system in a host of ways—buying positive reviews for their products or services, suppressing negative ones, or generating bad reviews of their competitors.
The final rule bans a range of tactics that pollute the market with fake reviews.
Aug 12 • 6 tweets • 3 min read
1. As @POTUS notes, @FTC's proposal would require that firms make it as easy to cancel a subscription as it is to sign up.
Too often people have to jump through endless hoops—or end up stuck paying for services they don't want.
2. @FTC's proposal includes additional protections to make sure that subscriptions are fully consensual—and that people aren't getting tricked into signing up or renewing subscriptions.
1. No American should face inflated prices due to unlawful business practices.
This week @FTC co-convened federal enforcers and regulators to discuss our efforts combatting illegal pricing.
ftc.gov/news-events/ne…2. @FTC's work has already prompted several inhaler manufacturers to drop how much Americans must pay out of pocket, from hundreds of dollars down to $35.
We'll continue challenging bogus patent listings and other illegal conduct that inflates healthcare costs.
Jul 19 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
1. All too often these days, a single glitch results in a system-wide outage, affecting industries from healthcare and airlines to banks and auto-dealers. Millions of people and businesses pay the price.
These incidents reveal how concentration can create fragile systems.
2. Concentrating production can concentrate risk, so that a single natural disaster or disruption has cascading effects.
This fragility has contributed to shortages in areas ranging from IV bags to infant formula.
1. @FTC has taken action against Adobe and two executives for pushing people into subscriptions and then making it absurdly hard to cancel.
Adobe ambushed users with hefty "early termination fees" and threw up obstacles when people tried to cancel.
ftc.gov/news-events/ne…2. Some users who tried to cancel by contacting customer service would have their calls drop or disconnect and then have to re-explain everything all over again. Others would be stuck in an endless loop of transfers across various Adobe representatives.
1. @FTC's investigation into the Exxon-Pioneer deal revealed an elaborate campaign by Pioneer CEO Scott Sheffield to collude with OPEC officials and inflate oil prices.
ftc.gov/news-events/ne…2. Global oil production has long been dominated by the OPEC cartel. If OPEC cuts production, Americans can get hit with high gas prices.
US production in the Permian Basin has emerged as a potential check on OPEC. But Sheffield has been trying to collude with OPEC rather than compete.
Apr 23 • 11 tweets • 3 min read
1. Today @FTC issued a final rule banning noncompetes for workers across the country.
The rule will ensure that Americans have the freedom to pursue a new job, start a new business, or bring a new idea to market.
ftc.gov/legal-library/…2. After proposing its noncompete rule last year, @FTC received over 26,000 comments from the public.
Over 25,000 of these public comments supported banning noncompetes.
1. This week @FTC published its report on grocery supply chain disruptions during the pandemic.
It found that big retailers pressured suppliers into giving them favorable access to goods, hurting smaller grocers and the communities that rely on them.
ftc.gov/news-events/ne…2. These findings echo accounts I've heard from independent grocers and wholesalers, who say that big suppliers privilege big retailers and disadvantage smaller ones.
If we uncover discriminatory tactics that violate the law, we won't hesitate to act.
1. In recent years we've seen a flurry of dealmaking involving healthcare providers, including by private equity funds. We're seeking public comment to better understand the impact of these deals, including on the cost and quality of patient care.
ftc.gov/news-events/ne…2. Medical professionals spanning ER doctors and registered nurses have shared with @FTC concerns about how private equity owners have slashed staffing and worsened care in ways that endanger patient health. My remarks lay out some of what we've heard.
1. Fraudsters are using voice cloning & other AI tools to impersonate individuals with eerie precision and at scale.
@FTC proposes to expand its impersonation rule to cover impersonation of individuals, so these fraudsters would pay hefty penalties.
ftc.gov/news-events/ne…
@FTC 2. We are also finalizing the government & business impersonator rule. This will let us tackle scams where fraudsters pretend to be the IRS or other entities and demand money on threat of arrest or loss of benefits. These scams defraud Americans out of billions of dollars a year.
Jan 9 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
1. Too often, data brokers track & sell Americans' location data—revealing not just where someone lives, but which doctors they visit and where they worship.
@FTC has taken action to ban data broker X-Mode/Outlogic from selling sensitive location data.
ftc.gov/news-events/ne…2. The Constitution protects Americans from unchecked government surveillance, including digital location tracking.
As my statement with @RKSlaughterFTC & @BedoyaFTC notes, Americans similarly deserve protection from unchecked corporate surveillance.
1. @FTC and the Connecticut AG have sued auto dealer Manchester City Nissan, as well as its owners and managers, for systematically deceiving customers about the price of cars and saddling them with junk fees for bogus add-ons.
ftc.gov/news-events/ne…2. The dealer doubly charged customers for services already covered. For example, a customer came in looking to buy a certified pre-owned car advertised for $15,700—but then the dealer added a $5,295.65 junk “inspection fee” for a car it had already inspected.
Nov 7, 2023 • 7 tweets • 2 min read
1. Wrongfully listed Orange Book patents by pharma companies can raise drug prices for Americans, harm fair competition, and delay better drugs.
Today @FTC challenged over 100 patent listings affecting products ranging from popular inhalers to EpiPens.
ftc.gov/news-events/ne…2. Millions of Americans rely on inhalers to control their asthma. And even though some of the most popular inhalers have been on the market for decades, they can still cost patients hundreds of dollars a month.
