Much of the Commission's current prominence stems from its broad statutory powers that have dramatically increased in the 1970s as Congress entrusted new authority to the “re vitalized” FTC. By 1979, the Commission exercised authority under 27 separate statutes. Our discussion divides these powers into three categories: The statutes as of 1969, statutes added in the 1970s, and the many statutes, called special statutes, that apply only to specific industries or problems, as contrasted to the more general statutes discussed in the first two categories.

Powers as of 1969

The heart of the Commission's power lies in Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act. Under that section as originally written in 1914, the Commission had the power to prevent unfair methods of competition in commerce. In 1938 the Commission received the power to prevent unfair or deceptive acts or practices in commerce. Although there may not be a legal distinction between the two, within the Commission it is usually thought that antitrust involves unfair methods of competition, whereas consumer protection involves unfair or deceptive acts or practices. As we will see in Chapter 4, by 1969 the courts had become very lenient in deferring to the Commission's judgment of what activities violated the general language of Section 5. Commentators noted, however, the FTC's limited remedies. As of 1969, the Commission's power either to proceed on an industry-wide, rather than on a case-by-case basis, or to force companies to return to consumers money that was illegally obtained was in doubt.