Regulators stayed busy in 2021, reminding direct sellers of the unique legal challenges faced by the channel throughout the year. Combined with the ever-increasing importance of addressing ESG and fraud risks facing the entire corporate landscape, we have selected the key insights and advice from our knowledgable contributors to keep SSN’s readers ahead of the curve. Please visit SocialSellingNews.com for the complete articles.
The Federal Trade Commission is in the midst of a sea change—a change in leadership, a change in ideology and a change in philosophy. Signaling the most significant course correction of the past 40 years, the Commission is reversing a self-imposed disarmament from the 1980s deregulation era while at the same time asking Congress to strengthen its powers under the FTC Act. This revitalized Commission has also released a target list, and direct selling is on it.
By: Donnelly L. McDowell (with content from John E. Villafranco)
With the FTC’s fight on the Hill for new 13(b) authority ongoing, two recent enforcement actions signal that the Commission plans to use its civil penalty authority in novel ways with significant implications for the direct selling industry.
In the wake of the Supreme Court’s unanimous decision in favor of AMG Capital Management—which stated that the FTC lacks authority to obtain monetary redress under Section 13(b) of the FTC Act—then Acting Chair Rebecca Slaughter vowed to lobby Congress in response.
Her goal was to “restore and strengthen the powers of the agency” and consider new ways to obtain money from companies through enforcement. Two months after the AMG decision, the
FTC continues to make good on those promises.