Markets Wired

Under the leadership of Acting Chairman Maureen K. Ohlhausen, the Federal Trade Commission is moving aggressively to implement Presidential directives aimed at eliminating wasteful, unnecessary regulations and processes. Excessive regulation and bureaucracy can create significant burdens on the public, while diverting scarce resources from the agency’s core mission to protect consumers and promote competition.

“I welcomed the President’s directive, and we’re already working hard to achieve it. The FTC will continue to pursue the right answer for consumers, but we will work hard to get there as efficiently as we can. We are focusing our resources where they will do the most good for the public and eliminating wasteful, legacy regulations and processes that have outlived their usefulness. American taxpayers deserve and expect nothing less from us,” Ohlhausen stated.

Though only in the early days of the new administration, the following initiatives are already underway:

1. New groups within the Bureau of Competition and the Bureau of Consumer Protection are working to streamline demands for information in investigations to eliminate unnecessary costs to companies and individuals who receive them.
2. Both enforcement Bureaus are reviewing their dockets and closing older investigations, where appropriate.
3. The entire agency continues to work to identify unnecessary regulations that are no longer in the public interest.
4. The Bureau of Consumer Protection is actively reviewing closed data security investigations to extract key lessons for improved guidance and transparency.
5. The Bureaus of Consumer Protection and Economics are working together to integrate economic expertise even earlier in FTC investigations to better inform agency decisions about the consumer welfare effects of enforcement actions.
6. Finally, because great ideas often come from within, Acting Chairman Ohlhausen has established a new capability within her office to collect and review ideas on process streamlining and operational efficiency opportunities from across the agency.

These initiatives are only the first steps, according to Acting Chairman Ohlhausen, “improving efficiency and productivity never stops in the private sector, government should operate no differently. I intend to keep focused on this issue, working collaboratively with career staff and agency leadership to identify and implement further streamlining and process improvements.”

The Federal Trade Commission works to promote competition, and protect and educate consumers. You can learn more about consumer topics and file a consumer complaint online or by calling 1-877-FTC-HELP (382-4357). Like the FTC on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, read our blogs and subscribe to press releases for the latest FTC news and resources.