Restore FTC’s Consumer Refund Power, Cantwell to Urge in Bill

Sen. Maria Cantwell plans to introduce legislation this week to restore the Federal Trade Commission’s ability to seek monetary awards for consumers in court, the lawmaker’s office told Bloomberg Law.

The bill would bring back an authority that the U.S. Supreme Court curtailed last year that lets the FTC return money to consumers who were subject to scams, fraud, or other forms of deception.

The agency’s commissioners called on lawmakers for a legislative fix at their latest meeting.

“If the FTC remains disarmed of this critical authority, millions of consumers and small businesses who’ve been scammed, swindled, or locked out ...