Senate Subcommittee Hearing on COVID-19 Pandemic Scams and Consumer Protection

The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Data Security held a hearing on COVID-19 pandemic fraud and scams with consumer protection officials and advocates. They discussed the role online platforms play in protecting consumers, the importance of public-private partnerships in combating fraud, and the pandemic’s impact on the increase of fraudulent scams and illegal robocalls. The witnesses also discussed Section 13(b) of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Act, calling on Congress to pass legislation that would give the FTC authorities to collect compensation for consumers. The Supreme Court recently ruled in favor of AMG Capitol, who the FTC had filed antitrust complaints against for deceptive payday lending practices. The court ruled that section 13(b) does not grant the FTC authority to collect compensation for consumers who were victims of fraudulent business practices, but they did allow for a legislative fix to 13(b). close