What Kind of Activities Violate Consumer Protection Law?
A large swath of conduct may implicate consumer protection laws today, but some common examples include:
- False advertising
- Failing to disclose material facts about a product or service
- Bait-and-switch tactics
- Fake reviews or testimonials
- Deceptive influencer practices
- Unwanted telemarketing and robocalls
- Unfair or deceptive product guarantees or warranties
- Lax data privacy and security practices
- Insufficient disclosure of the use of consumer data
- Unfair debt collection and credit reporting practices
- Price gouging
- Identity theft
Key U.S. Consumer Protection Laws and Rules Every Attorney Should Know
Many statutes and rules fall under the expansive umbrella of “consumer protection law.” We highlight some of the key statutes below.
Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (FTC Act)
Section 5 broadly prohibits “unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce” and empowers the FTC to investigate and prosecute such conduct.
FTC Rules and Regulations
The FTC also administers and enforces a number of key consumer protection rules (which are codified into law through rulemaking processes), including the Telemarketing Sales Rule, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule, the Business Opportunity Rule, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Health Breach Notification Rule, CAN-SPAM, the Franchise Rule, the Safeguards Rule, and more.
State Unfair and Deceptive Practices (UDAP) Statutes
UDAP statutes exist in all 50 states and the District of Columbia and aim to protect consumers from a variety of unfair and deceptive business practices. Although UDAP statutes are frequently called “little FTC Acts,” UDAP statutes vary widely by state, with some statutes applying to only certain industries or types of conduct.
While these statutes and rules make up the foundation of consumer protection law, there are dozens of laws that may be considered “consumer protection laws,” including product safety and liability laws, consumer financial protection laws, state privacy and data protection statutes, state data breach statutes, and more.
Who Enforces Consumer Protection Law?
FTC
The FTC has a dual antitrust and consumer protection mandate. The FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection aims to stop unfair, deceptive and fraudulent business practices by collecting reports from consumers and conducting investigations, suing companies and people that break the law, developing rules to maintain a fair marketplace, and educating consumers and businesses about their rights and responsibilities.
State Attorneys General
State attorneys general typically enforce state UDAP statutes, often through divisions established to focus exclusively on consumer issues. They investigate and prosecute consumer protection violations that affect their state’s consumers and businesses, often working in coordination with the FTC. Multi-state investigations and/or actions are also common, depending on the scope of the underlying activity or business.
DOJ
While the FTC is seen as the primary enforcer of federal consumer protection laws, the Department of Justice also has a consumer protection branch, which largely partners with other agencies to enforce consumer protection laws.
Business Self-Regulation
Self-regulation plays an important role in consumer protection law, with organizations like the Better Business Bureau’s National Advertising Division (NAD) providing a forum for competitors to resolve disputes regarding misleading or false advertising claims.
Private Plaintiffs
Individual consumers can enforce some consumer statutes on behalf of the state through “private attorneys general statutes.” Once a plaintiff files suit under one of these statutes, the state must decide whether to take over prosecution of the lawsuit. If it declines to do so, the individual plaintiff may continue to pursue the case.
Moreover, consumers can bring consumer class action suits against businesses for general consumer protection violations, which enables large numbers of consumers with similar claims against one or more common defendants to join their cases into a single lawsuit.
Others
Others agencies have sector-specific authority that may involve consumer protection enforcement, such as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (e.g., unfair, deceptive, or abusive financial practices), the Food and Drug Administration (e.g., deceptive product labels), Federal Communications Commission (e.g., deceptive practices in telecommunications), and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (e.g., safety of consumer protects).
How Do You Practice Consumer Protection Law?
Plaintiff-Side Representation
Consumer protection lawyers may spend their careers providing direct representation to consumers, such as through class actions or identity theft services.
Defense-Side Representation
Many consumer protection attorneys defend businesses from consumer class actions or other consumer protection-related litigation. Moreover, attorneys may defend businesses or individuals from consumer protection investigations initiated by entities like the FTC or state attorneys general, which includes navigating interactions with the agencies and developing strategies to minimize potential liability.
Defense attorneys often provide general counseling to businesses relating to consumer protection law compliance, which may involve analyzing the risk associated with certain business activities or campaigns.
Government Work
Consumer protection attorneys may also work for a state or federal agency that enforces consumer protection laws, or for an organization focusing on policy reform.
Consumer Protection Law: Excellent Career Opportunities
Consumer protection law offers excellent career opportunities for attorneys that are interested in ensuring fairness and transparency in the marketplace and safeguarding consumers from deceptive and unfair practices. Additionally, by understanding the key principles in this field, legal professionals can better advocate for consumers and advance their business clients’ goals.
