The Federal Trade Commission Act of 1914

The Federal Trade Commission Act of 1914 was a piece of Federal legislation that created the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) was established in order to promote fair trading practices and to protect consumers from corruption and illicit behavior on the part of corporations.

The Federal Trade Commission Act granted the United States President the authority to appoint the members of the Federal Trade Commission. The Commission was composed of five different members who each served a seven year term. It was permitted to authorize Cease and Desist orders, which required large corporations to halt specified activities. Therefore, if the Committee believed that a corporation was engaging in harmful or unlawful activities, it could legally require the corporation to abandon these activities. One such example is the formation of coercive monopolies, which could be dissolved by the Commission.

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