Consumer Protection Laws

The U.S. government has instituted a number of consumer protection laws over the years. These laws are enforced for the purpose of fostering fair business competition and truth in advertising. Keep reading to learn about key consumer protection laws.

Government Structure of Consumer Protection

In the United States, consumer laws are mandated and enforce on both the federal and state level. At the federal level, the job of enforcing these laws falls on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the U.S. Department of Justice. The FTC is largely in charge of ensuring fair business practices and healthy competition within business markets. The Justice Department is responsible for handling legal proceedings that may arise from controversial business practices.

Further consumer protection occurs at the state level. To handle this task, the majority of states have an institution known as the Department of Consumer Affairs. This department may enforce unique state consumer laws not instituted at the federal level.

Notable Consumer Protection Laws

Consumer laws span a large swath of topics and industries. However, broadly speaking, the average consumer is most personally affected by laws pertaining to credit. For example, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act is designed to eliminate abusive debt collection practices and allow for fair access to personal credit information. Complementing this Act is the Fair Credit Reporting Act. This Act monitors the collection, dissemination and use of credit data to ensure consumer privacy.

Other laws that relate to credit include the Truth in Lending Act and Fair Lending Act. For a more complete list of consumer laws, visit FTC Consumer Protection website.

Other Key Consumer Protection Categories

The FTC is responsible for regulating business practices of all industries. A few industries that require the most regulation include the health industry, energy industry, investment industry, automobile industry and the Internet. The FTC is also the regulatory committee that deals with identity theft and privacy issues. With the age of the Internet, information is not only more easily accessible, but also more easily stolen and exploited. As technology continues to evolve, so too will consumer protection laws – a fact that serves to adequately protect consumers of all generations.