Business and legal observers submit their objections to recent changes
By: David BlandWords matter, and the deliberate deletion of ‘legitimate business activity’ from the FTC’s draft Mission Statement is material and meaningful. This move is likely to trigger another hostile response, creating an unnecessary distraction of the Agency’s own making. — John Villafranco, Partner, Kelley Drye & Warren LLP
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the nation’s most powerful corporate lobbying group and a long-time adversary of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), sent three letters to Commission Chairwoman Lina Khan on Nov. 19, objecting to recent actions by the Commission that the Chamber considers to be abuses of power.
In an incendiary accompanying statement, U.S. Chamber President and CEO Suzanne P. Clark said: “The FTC is waging a war against American businesses, so the U.S. Chamber is fighting back to protect free enterprise, American competitiveness, and economic growth.” 
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued its third Notice of Penalty Offenses in as many weeks on Oct. 26. After putting 70 for-profit colleges on notice earlier in the month for making deceptive claims regarding graduates’ job and earning prospects, followed by a Notice to 700 national advertisers about misleading endorsements, testimonials, and fake product reviews, the Commission turned its focus to companies that offer money-making opportunities. 
Dallin Larsen, a former Ernst & Young National Entrepreneur of the Year and Utah CEO of the Year, founded Vasayo in 2016. Prior to Vasayo, Larsen founded MonaVie in 2005 and grew that company from zero to nearly a billion dollars in annual sales in less than five years. Under Larsen’s direction, Vasayo’s philanthropic partnership with Hearts & Hands for Humanity has generated enough contributions to build more than 130 wells in Tanzania, Africa, delivering clean water to hundreds of thousands of people. 
