Federal Trade Commission | Emerging Technology Policy Careers

Federal Trade Commission (FTC)

Last updated

26th March 2024

Overview

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent federal agency of the US government with a dual mission to promote fair competition and protect American consumers from predatory or misleading business practices. When corporations engage in harmful activities such as monopolization or false advertising, FTC is tasked with stepping in on behalf of the public via litigation or regulation.

FTC will likely play a major role in regulating the AI industry. The FTC Act, which established the agency, empowers it to crack down on “unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce.” FTC has recently taken steps to regulate algorithmic bias and deception in AI, require clear disclosure of when AI is used, limit false statements about the capabilities and safety of AI systems, and constrain the kinds of data used in AI models.

Source: USASpending

Background on FTC

Government context: FTC is one of 56 independent agencies of the US government.
Mission: to protect consumers and promote competition by preventing anticompetitive, deceptive, and unfair business practices through law enforcement, advocacy, and education.
Main activities: enforcing antitrust laws through monitoring and litigation, reviewing corporate mergers and acquisitions in collaboration with the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division, investigating false advertising and fraud, protecting and advancing consumer protections, advising federal and state agencies on consumer protection matters
Budget: ~$500 million (total budgetary resources)
Staff: ~1,000 employees
Brief history: FTC was established in 1914 with the Clayton Act in response to popular calls for antimonopolistic “trust-busting”. It now serves as the main agency for enforcing consumer protection and competition laws in the US.

Organizational structure

Leadership consists of five commissioners serving seven-year terms. No more than three members of the commission can serve from a single party, meaning that effectively the composition of FTC commissioners is always split 3–2 (though historically, many votes have been unanimous/non-partisan). Commissioners are appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. Different from heads of Departments (e.g. the Secretary of State), commissioners cannot be removed from office for political or policy reasons by the president. The commissioners constitute a kind of voting board that determines the agency’s agenda and policy direction. No case is filed in federal court without the Commission’s approval. One commissioner serves as FTC Chair at the President’s pleasure. The current chair is Lina Khan.

FTC is divided into the five offices of the commissioners; three main bureaus; eight regional offices; and a number of other administrative offices. The bureau structure reflects the dual mandate of FTC to protect consumers (Bureau of Consumer Protection) and promote fair competition (Bureau of Competition). A third bureau, the Bureau of Economics, provides analysis to aid in decision-making and litigation.

Source: FTC

FTC and AI policy

FTC components working on AI policy

In addition to working directly with agency leadership, some FTC offices that those interested in AI policy may find professionally relevant include:

Office of Technology (OT), which supports law enforcement investigations and actions, advises FTC staff and the Commission on policy and research initiatives, and engages with the public and relevant experts to understand trends and to advance the Commission’s work. This office is one of FTC’s newest, launching officially in February 2023. OT is primarily staffed by technologists.
Office of Policy Planning (PP), which assists the Commission in developing and implementing long-range competition and consumer protection policy initiatives and advises staff on cases raising new or complex policy and legal issues. PP is overseen by FTC’s Chief of Staff.
Bureau of Competition’s (BC) Technology Enforcement Division (TED), which investigates anticompetitive conduct in online platforms, digital advertising, social networking, software, operating systems, and streaming services.
Bureau of Consumer Protection’s (BCP) Division of Privacy and Identity (DPIP), which oversees issues related to consumer privacy, credit reporting, identity theft, and information security. DPIP has brought cases against AI companies, including for alleged violations of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).

Recent AI-related developments at FTC

December 2023: FTC charged Rite Aid with deploying AI facial recognition technology without reasonable safeguards.
August 2023: FTC successfully halted the operations of Automators AI who were running an investment platform, which the company baselessly claimed could yield profits with the help of AI.
July 2023: FTC initiated an investigation into OpenAI over allegedly putting personal information and personal data at risk.
May 2023: FTC released a blog post affirming its commitment to counter consumer deception through AI.
April 2023: FTC released a joint statement with the Department of Justice (DOJ), Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) affirming that “existing legal authorities apply to the use of automated systems and innovative new technologies just as they apply to other practices.”
March 2023: FTC released a blog post warning AI companies that any algorithms that had inherent biases or risks that were not being appropriately mitigated before release, plus improper disclosure of that risk, would be in violation of the FTC Act.
February 2023: FTC released a blog post warning companies that inaccurate statements about the use of AI in products or improper disclosure of risks would be in violation of the FTC Act.
February 2023: FTC launched a new Office of Technology to inform the agency’s litigation on technological fields, including data security, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and human-computer interfaces.
June 2022: FTC issued a report to Congress warning against the use of AI to combat “online harms,” including hate speech, illegal drug sales, sex trafficking, etc., due to inherent algorithmic flaws, biases and surveillance.
November 2021: FTC established an AI strategy group.
April 2021: FTC released a blog post warning companies that biased or discriminatory algorithms are in violation of the FTC Act.

Working at FTC

FTC recruits from a wide range of backgrounds. While a law degree is required for many positions, other professional backgrounds are also valuable for work at FTC, such as economists, operations managers, paralegals, and technologists. To improve recruitment, FTC runs a Paralegal Honors Program and Technologists in Residence program.

To find open positions at FTC, visit USAJOBS filtering for “Federal Trade Commission”, and check out FTC’s Careers page, which may include postings not listed on USAJOBS. You can also follow FTC on LinkedIn to stay updated about their activities and new job postings.

If you want to apply, check out our federal agency application advice section for guides to USAJOBS, federal resumes, interviewing for federal positions, and more.