§7706 Enforcement Generally

Summary

The FTC enforces these rules as if the conduct were an unfair or deceptive act. Other federal agencies enforce the rules for specific industries instead of the FTC. That includes bank regulators for banks, the National Credit Union Administration for credit unions, the SEC for brokers and investment firms, state insurance authorities for insurers (unless a state declines), the Department of Transportation for airlines, the Department of Agriculture for certain livestock and market activities, the Farm Credit Administration for Farm Credit institutions, and the FCC for communications companies. Each agency can treat a break of these rules like a violation of an FTC rule and use its own legal powers. For some parts of the law, the FTC and the FCC do not have to prove the person knew or meant to break the rule when asking a court to order them to stop. State attorneys general can sue on behalf of residents to stop violations or get money. They can seek actual losses or statutory damages up to $250 for each violation, with a $2,000,000 cap for most claims. To win money, a state usually must show the defendant knew, or should have known, about the bad act, except for the specific parts where knowledge is not required. If a federal agency has already sued the same defendant for the same claims, the state cannot start its own case while that federal case is pending. Internet access providers can also sue to stop violations or recover money. They may get actual losses or set amounts per violation: up to $100 for certain spam claims and up to $25 for other claims, with a $1,000,000 cap for non-spam claims. Courts can raise damages up to three times for willful or especially bad conduct, or lower damages if the defendant had reasonable compliance steps. Courts may also award costs and attorney fees in these cases.