Markets Wired

The Federal Trade Commission today announced its second U.S. roundtable to be held as part of the ongoing agency initiative “FTC at 100: Into Our Second Century.” The event, which is free and open to the public, will be held at the Searle Center at Northwestern University School of Law on September 25, 2008. The roundtable will focus on the agency’s deployment of resources in its pursuit of its competition and consumer protection missions, including the use of enforcement and other available tools, as well as the effectiveness of the agency in pursuing its core missions.

Announced in mid-June, the FTC at 100 initiative stems from Chairman Kovacic’s statement that, “There is no substitute for the agency’s own sustained efforts to get things right.” The Commission’s 100th anniversary is in 2014. The over-arching goal of the self-assessment is to revisit fundamental questions about the possibilities for improvement prior to the anniversary, to enable the FTC to be the strongest possible agency at this historic juncture. The initiative’s first roundtable event was held in Washington, DC, on July 29-30, 2008, and additional roundtables will be held in various domestic and international locations this fall.

The Chicago roundtable will begin with opening remarks by Maureen K. Ohlhausen, Director of the FTC’s Office of Policy Planning, and will feature panels moderated by Steven Baker, Director of the FTC’s Midwest Region Office; Alden Abbott, Associate Director in the Bureau of Competition; and Michael Baye, Director of the Bureau of Economics. Panelists at the roundtable will include former FTC staff members, as well as state enforcement officials, academics, and practitioners. Topics to be covered during the event include: 1) the most effective means for developing competition and consumer protection policy; 2) the optimal use of the agency’s enforcement, research, advocacy, and educational tools; 3) the use of industry self-regulation as a complement to enforcement; 4) setting the agency’s research agenda; and 5) evaluating the effectiveness of the FTC’s enforcement and other efforts in the competition and consumer protection areas.

Logistics

The Chicago roundtable will be held from 9:15 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, September 25, 2008 at the Searle Center at Northwestern University School of Law, located at Wieboldt Hall, 340 East Superior Street, Chicago, IL. Pre-registration is not required. A full agenda for the roundtable, including a list of panelists, can be found on the FTC’s Web site at http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/workshops/ftc100/index.shtm.

Reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities are available upon request. Requests for such accommodations should be submitted via e-mail to: d-gundersen@law.northwestern.edu or by calling Derek Gundersen at 312-503-0184. Such requests should include a detailed description of the accommodations needed and a way to contact you if we need more information. Please provide advance notice.

The Federal Trade Commission works for consumers to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices and to provide information to help spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint in English or Spanish, visit the FTC’s online Complaint Assistant or call 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357). The FTC enters complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to more than 1,500 civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad. The FTC’s Web site provides free information on a variety of consumer topics.

(FTC at 100 – Chicago.wpd)