Federal Trade

Commission

Fiscal Years 2009 and 2010

Performance Plans

Table of Contents

Performance Plan Tables

Budgeted Resources by Objective � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 2

Objectives by FTE � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 3

Annual Performance Measures � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 4

Annual Performance Measures - Historical � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 6

Fiscal Year 2009 Performance Plan

Consumer Protection � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 11

Maintaining Competition � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 29

Fiscal Year 2010 Performance Plan

Consumer Protection � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 51

Maintaining Competition � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 69

Performance Plan

Tables
Performance Plan 2 Fiscal Year 2010

Budgeted Resources by Objective

($ in thousands)

Consumer Protection

Goal 1: Prevent fraud, deception, and unfair business 

practices in the marketplace

FY 2009 

FTE

FY 2009 

Amount

FY 2010 

FTE

FY 2010 

Amount

Objective 1.1: Identify fraud, deception, and unfair practices 

that cause the greatest consumer injury 96 $24,827 95 $26,038

Objective 1.2: Stop fraud, deception, and unfair practices 

through law enforcement 419 $102,042 436 $114,191

Objective 1.3: Prevent consumer injury through education 49 $12,351 51 $13,779

Objective 1.4: Enhance consumer welfare through research, 

reports, advocacy, and international cooperation and 

exchange 37 $9,083 41 $11,136

Total 601 $148,303 623 $165,144

Maintaining Competition

Goal 2: Prevent anticompetitive mergers and other 

anticompetitive business practices in the marketplace

FY 2009 

FTE

FY 2009 

Amount

FY 2010 

FTE

FY 2010 

Amount

Objective 2.1: Identify anticompetitive mergers and 

practices that cause the greatest consumer injury 57 $12,255 56 $13,029

Objective 2.2: Stop anticompetitive mergers and practices 

through law enforcement 413 $88,957 428 $99,337

Objective 2.3: Prevent consumer injury through education 26 $5,610 23 $5,298

Objective 2.4: Enhance consumer welfare through research, 

reports, advocacy, and international cooperation and 

exchange 19 $4,075 19 $4,392

Total 515 $110,897 526 $122,056
Performance Plan 3 Fiscal Year 2010

Objectives by FTE

Fiscal Year 2009 Fiscal Year 2010

Objective Number Total 

FTE

Objective Number Total 

FTE 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4

Privacy and Identity Protection 6 32 2 7 47 6 36 2 8 52

Financial Practices 4 53 3 5 65 4 67 3 6 80

Marketing Practices 5 105 2 3 115 5 96 2 3 106

Advertising Practices 6 46 1 3 56 6 47 1 4 58

Enforcement 4 49 1 1 55 4 52 1 1 58

Planning and Information 40 6 3 0 49 40 6 3 0 49

Consumer and Business 

Education 0 0 20 1 21 0 0 21 1 22

Economic and Consumer 

Policy Analysis 0 1 1 3 5 0 1 1 3 5

Management 5 15 3 4 27 5 15 3 4 27

Support 26 112 13 10 161 25 116 14 11 166

Total 96 419 49 37 601 95 436 51 41 623

Fiscal Year 2009 Fiscal Year 2010

Objective Number Total 

FTE

Objective Number Total 

FTE 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4

Premerger Notification 16 1 4 1 22 15 1 2 1 19

Merger and Joint Venture 

Enforcement 13 166 7 4 190 13 172 7 4 196

Merger and Joint Venture 

Compliance 1 8 1 1 11 1 8 1 1 11

Nonmerger Enforcement 7 112 4 3 126 7 117 4 3 131

Nonmerger Compliance 0 2 0 0 2 0 2 0 0 2

Antitrust Policy Analysis 1 2 1 3 7 1 2 1 3 7

Other Direct 4 12 2 2 20 4 12 2 2 20

Support 15 110 7 5 137 15 114 6 5 140

Total 57 413 26 19 515 56 428 23 19 526

Maintaining Competition

Consumer Protection
Performance Plan 4 Fiscal Year 2010

Annual Performance Measures 

Fiscal Years 2009 to 2010

FY 2009 Target FY 2010 Target

Protect Consumers

Goal 1: To prevent fraud, deception, and unfair practices in the marketplace.

Objective 1.1–Identify fraud, deception, unfairness, and other unlawful practices that cause the greatest consumer injury:

Measure 1.1.1: Collect and enter complaints and inquiries entered into the 

consumer database. 1.75 million 1.75 million

Measure 1.1.2: The percentage of the agency’s consumer protection law 

enforcement actions that are responsive to complaint information gathered by the 

agency.

65% 65%

Objective 1.2–Stop fraud, deception, unfairness, and other unlawful practices through law enforcement:

Measure 1.2.1: Stop economic injury to consumers through law enforcement. $400 million $400 million

Objective 1.3–Prevent consumer injury through education:

Measure 1.3.1: Track consumer protection messages accessed online or in print. 55 million 55 million

Measure 1.3.2: Track consumer protection messages related to identity theft, 

accessed online or in print. 10 million 10 million

Measure 1.3.3: Track consumer protection messages in Spanish, accessed online 

or in print. 3.0 million 3.8 million

Measure 1.3.4: Track (a) the number of times print media publish articles that 

refer to FTC consumer protection activities and (b) the circulation of media that 

publish those articles.

(a) 2,750 

articles 

(b) 750 million 

circulation

(a) 3,000 

articles

(b) 750 million 

circulation

Objective 1.4–Enhance consumer welfare through research, reports, advocacy, and international cooperation and exchange:

Measure 1.4.1: Convene or participate substantially in workshops and 

conferences on novel or challenging consumer protection problems or issues. 6 6

Measure 1.4.2: Issue reports on novel or challenging consumer protection 

problems or issues. 8 8

Measure 1.4.3: File public and advocacy comments with other federal and state 

government agencies. 6 6

Measure 1.4.4: Cooperate with foreign government agencies on enforcement 

matters with cross-border components. 20 20

Measure 1.4.5: Provide consumer protection related policy or technical input to 

foreign government agencies or international organizations. 20 20
Performance Plan 5 Fiscal Year 2010

FY 2009 Target FY 2010 Target

Maintain Competition

Goal 2: To prevent anticompetitive mergers and other anticompetitive business practices in the marketplace.

Objective 2.1–Identify anticompetitive mergers and practices that cause the greatest consumer injury:

Measure 2.1.1: Achieve positive outcomes in matters in which HSR requests for 

additional information are issued. 90% 90%

Measure 2.1.2: Percentage of significant nonmerger investigations that result in a 

positive outcome. 90% 90%

Measure 2.1.3: Track the number of enforcement actions for the total mission, for 

the (a) merger and (b) nonmerger actions. track results track results

Measure 2.1.4 Track the number of (a) second requests, (b) reportable transactions 

for which premerger notifications were received, (c) HSR investigations that 

resulted in enforcement action, (d) transactions in which antitrust issues were 

resolved through voluntary abandonment or restructuring because of FTC 

concerns, and (e) investigations closed because the evidence indicated that a 

competitive problem was unlikely.

track results track results

Measure 2.1.5: Track the number of significant nonmerger investigations closed 

each year, (a) with enforcement action and (b) without enforcement action. track results track results

Objective 2.2–Stop anticompetitive mergers and practices through law enforcement:

Measure 2.2.1: Positive result of cases brought by FTC due to alleged violations. 80% 80%

Measure 2.2.2: Achieve savings for consumers through merger enforcement. $500 million $500 million

Measure 2.2.3: Take action against mergers likely to harm competition in markets 

with a total of at least $125 billion in sales over a five-year period; $25 billion in 

sales each year.

$25 billion $25 billion

Measure 2.2.4: Achieve savings for consumers through nonmerger enforcement. $80 million $80 million

Measure 2.2.5: Take action against anticompetitive conduct in markets with a 

total of at least $40 billion in annual sales over five-year period; $8 billion each 

year.

$8 billion $8 billion

Measure 2.2.6 Save consumers at least six times the amount of agency resources 

allocated to merger activity. 600% 600%

Measure 2.2.7: Save consumers at least four times the amount of agency resources 

allocated to nonmerger enforcement activity. 400% 400%

Objective 2.3–Prevent consumer injury through education:

Measure 2.3.1: Quantify number of hits on antitrust information on FTC Web site. 15 million 15 million

Measure 2.3.2: Track (a) the number of times print media publish articles that 

refer to FTC competition activities and (b) the circulation of the media that 

publish those articles.

(a) 2,700 articles

(b) track results

(a) 2,700 articles

(b) track results

Objective 2.4–Enhance consumer welfare through research, reports, advocacy, and international cooperation and exchange:

Measure 2.4.1: Convene or participate substantially in workshops, conferences, 

seminars, and hearings involving significant competition-related issues. 4 4

Measure 2.4.2: Issue studies, reports, and working or issues papers on significant 

competition-related issues. 8 8

Measure 2.4.3: Make advocacy filings with other federal and state government 

agencies urging them to assess the competitive ramifications and costs and 

benefits to consumers of their policies.

6 6

Measure 2.4.4: Issue advisory opinions to persons seeking agency review of 

proposed business actions. 2 to 3 2 to 3 

Measure 2.4.5: File amicus briefs with courts addressing competition-related 

issues. 2 to 3 2 to 3 

Measure 2.4.6: Track the volume of traffic on ftc.gov relating to competition 

research, reports, advocacy, and international cooperation and exchange. 700,000 700,000

Measure 2.4.7: Track the number of (a) cases on which the FTC cooperated 

with a foreign competition authority, (b) consultations with or comments to 

foreign competition authorities, (c) written submissions on international fora, (d) 

international events attended, and (e) leadership positions held by FTC staff in 

international competition organizations.

a) 30 

b) 25

 c) 7 

d) 8 

e) 5

a) 30 

b) 25 

c) 7 

d) 8 

e) 5
Performance Plan 6 Fiscal Year 2010

Annual Performance Measures - Historical

Fiscal Years 2004 to 2008

FY 2004 

Actual

FY 2005 

Actual

FY 2006 

Actual

FY 2007 

Actual

FY 2008 

Actual

Protect Consumers

Goal 1: Prevent fraud, deception, and unfair business practices in the marketplace.

Objective 1.1–Identify fraud, deception, and unfair practices that cause the greatest consumer injury:

Measure 1.1.1: Collect and enter complaints and 

inquiries entered into the consumer database. 994,000 1,015,000 1,011,000 1,100,000 3,050,000

Measure 1.1.2: The percentage of the agency’s 

consumer protection law enforcement actions 

that are responsive to complaint information 

gathered by the agency.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 76% 71%

Objective 1.2–Stop fraud, deception, unfairness, and other unlawful practices through law enforcement:

Measure 1.2.1: Stop economic injury to 

consumers each year through law enforcement. $349 million $366 million $293 million $519 million $474 million

Measure 1.2.2: Stop fraudulent, deceptive, unfair, 

and other unlawful practices by obtaining orders 

or conducting other direct interventions with 

businesses resulting in a change in business 

conduct

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 137 132

Objective 1.3–Prevent consumer injury through education:

Measure 1.3.1: Track consumer protection 

messages accessed online or in print. 26.5 million 35.3 million 53 million 47 million 49.2 million

Measure 1.3.2: Track consumer protection 

messages related to identity theft, accessed 

online or in print.

3.7 million 3.7 million 9.4 million 9.6 million 11.4 million

Measure 1.3.3: Track consumer protection 

messages in Spanish, accessed online or in print. 0.7 million 1.1 million 2.4 million 2.2 million 2.0 million

Measure 1.3.4: Track (a) the number of times 

print media publish articles that refer to FTC 

consumer protection activities and (b) the 

circulation of media that publish those articles.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

(a) 3,066 

articles 

(b) 863 

million 

circulation

(a) 3,100 

articles

(b) 791 

million 

circulation

Objective 1.4–Enhance consumer welfare through research, reports, advocacy, and international cooperation and exchange:

Measure 1.4.1: Convene or participate 

substantially in workshops and conferences 

on novel or challenging consumer protection 

problems or issues.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 10 16

Measure 1.4.2: Issue reports on novel or 

challenging consumer protection problems or 

issues.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 8 12

Measure 1.4.3: File public and advocacy 

comments with other federal and state 

government agencies.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 7 6

Measure 1.4.4: Cooperate with foreign 

government agencies on enforcement matters 

with cross-border components.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 23 46

Measure 1.4.5: Provide consumer protection 

related policy or technical input to foreign 

government agencies or international 

organizations.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 34 88
Performance Plan 7 Fiscal Year 2010

FY 2004 

Actual

FY 2005 

Actual

FY 2006 

Actual

FY 2007 

Actual

FY 2008 

Actual

Maintain Competition

Goal 2: Prevent anticompetitive mergers and other anticompetitive business practices in the marketplace.

Objective 2.1–Identify anticompetitive mergers and practices that cause the greatest consumer injury:

Measure 2.1.1: Achieve positive outcomes in 

matters in which HSR requests for additional 

information are issued.

55% 52% 59% 100% 100%

Measure 2.1.2: Percentage of significant 

nonmerger investigations that result in a positive 

outcome.

63% 50% 40% 100% 100%

Measure 2.1.3: Track the number of enforcement 

actions for the total mission, for the (a) merger 

and (b) nonmerger actions.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ a) 22 

b) 11

a) 21 

b) 4

Measure 2.1.4 Report the number of (a) second 

requests, (b) reportable transactions for which 

premerger notifications were received, (c) HSR 

investigations that resulted in enforcement 

action, (d) transactions in which antitrust issues 

were resolved through voluntary abandonment 

or restructuring because of FTC concerns, and 

(e) investigations closed because the evidence 

indicated that a competitive problem was 

unlikely.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

a) 31

b) 2,108

c) 20 

d) 5 

e) 11

a) 21

b)1,656 

c) 12 

d) 2 

e) 7

Measure 2.1.5: Track the number of significant 

nonmerger investigations closed each year, 

(a) with enforcement action and (b) without 

enforcement action.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ a) 11 

b) 17

a) 4 

b) 14

Objective 2.2–Stop anticompetitive mergers and business practices through law enforcement:

Measure 2.2.1: Positive result of cases brought by 

FTC due to alleged violations. 100% 95% 100% 100% 96%

Measure 2.2.2: Achieve savings for consumers 

through merger enforcement. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ $805 million $360 million

Measure 2.2.3: Take action against mergers likely 

to harm competition in markets with a total of at 

least $125 billion in sales over a five-year period; 

$25 billion in sales each year.

$8.5 

billion

$61.8 

billion

$13.4 

billion

$ 42.6 

million

$14.9 

million

Measure 2.2.4: Achieve savings for consumers 

through nonmerger enforcement. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ $75 million $28 million

Measure 2.2.5: Take action against 

anticompetitive conduct in markets with a total 

of at least $40 billion in annual sales over fiveyear period; $8 billion each year.

$2.6 

billion

$19.4 

billion $1.4 billion $2.6 billion $0.4 billion

Measure 2.2.6 Save consumers at least six times 

the amount of agency resources allocated to 

merger activity.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 2,500% 1,121%

Measure 2.2.7: Save consumers at least four 

times the amount of agency resources allocated 

to nonmerger enforcement activity.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 424% 164%
Performance Plan 8 Fiscal Year 2010

FY 2004 

Actual

FY 2005 

Actual

FY 2006 

Actual

FY 2007 

Actual

FY 2008 

Actual

Objective 2.3–Prevent consumer injury through education:

Measure 2.3.1: Quantify number of hits on 

antitrust information on FTC Web site. 11 million 9.8 million 10.6 million 15.7 million 12.5 million

Measure 2.3.2: Track (a) the number of times 

print media publish articles that refer to FTC 

competition activities and (b) the circulation of 

the media that publish those articles.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

a) 2,982 

articles

b) 635 

million 

a) 1,858 

articles

b) 397 

million

Objective 2.4–Enhance consumer welfare through research, reports, advocacy, and international cooperation and exchange:

Measure 2.4.1: Convene or participate 

substantially in workshops, conferences, 

seminars, and hearings involving significant 

competition-related issues.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 7 5

Measure 2.4.2: Issue studies, reports, and 

working or issues papers on significant 

competition-related issues.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 18 7

Measure 2.4.3: Make advocacy filings with other 

federal and state government agencies urging 

them to assess the competitive ramifications and 

costs and benefits to consumers of their policies.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 11 12

Measure 2.4.4: Issue advisory opinions to 

persons seeking agency review of proposed 

business actions.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 2 1

Measure 2.4.5: File amicus briefs with courts 

addressing competition-related issues. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 4 1

Measure 2.4.6: Track the volume of traffic on ftc.

gov relating to competition research, reports, 

advocacy, and international cooperation and 

exchange.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 1.1 million 1.2 million

Measure 2.4.7: Track the number of (a) cases 

on which the FTC cooperated with a foreign 

competition authority, (b) consultations with or 

comments to foreign competition authorities, (c) 

written submissions on international fora, (d) 

international events attended, and (e) leadership 

positions held by FTC staff in international 

competition organizations.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

a) 61

b) 70 

c) 19 

d) 48

e) 8

a) 79

b) 89 

c) 30 

d) 68 

e) 9

Annual Performance Measures - Historical

Fiscal Years 2004 to 2008
Fiscal Year 2009 

Performance Plan

Performance Plan 11 Fiscal Year 2009

Consumer Protection

Fiscal Year 2009

Goal 1: To prevent

fraud, deception, 

and unfair practices

in the marketplace

Objective 1.1: Identify fraud, deception, unfairness and other 

unlawful practices that cause the greatest consumer injury

To fulfill its consumer protection goal the FTC must identify 

consumer protection problems and trends in the fast-changing, increasingly global marketplace. The agency strives to 

understand issues affecting consumers, including newlyemerging methods of fraud or deceit, so that it can target its 

enforcement, education, and advocacy to those areas where 

consumers suffer the most harm. The FTC reports this information to other law enforcement authorities and encourages 

those authorities to assist in its efforts, either independently 

or jointly. In this way, the FTC can leverage its resources by 

ensuring multiple “cops on the beat.” 

To fulfill this objective, the FTC is using new technologies 

creatively and building on its broad base of private and 

public sector partners. The agency continues to collect 

consumer complaint information directly through four 

principal sources: a toll-free helpline (1-877-FTC HELP), an 

identity theft hotline (1-877-ID-THEFT), the National Do Not 

Call Registry (www.donotcall.gov), and online consumer 

complaint forms that support each of these efforts, as well as 

online forms dedicated to complaints from members of the 

U.S. Armed Forces and to cross-border fraud complaints. In 

addition, the FTC continues to gather consumer complaint 

information from other sources, including law enforcement 

agencies, Better Business Bureaus, and private entities. The 

agency makes this and other information available, through 

a secure Internet Web site called the Consumer Sentinel 

Network, to more than 1,700 law enforcement partner agencies in the United States, Canada, and Australia. In addition, 

since 1998, the FTC has maintained an electronic mailbox 

(spam@uce.gov) to which Internet users are encouraged to 

forward spam. This spam is stored in a searchable database 

enabling the FTC staff to track trends and identify law 
Performance Plan 12 Fiscal Year 2009

Strategies

FY 2009 Implementation Plan

enforcement targets when researching potential cases. The 

agency augments identification of targets from its databases 

with other strategies for generating enforcement leads, such 

as ad monitoring, Internet surfs, and direct referrals from 

government and private sector partners.

•	 Continue to upgrade and enhance the Consumer 

Sentinel Network.

•	 Expand the pool of entities that make their consumer 

complaint data available to the law enforcement community through the Consumer Sentinel Network.

•	 Monitor the marketplace to identify illegal practices 

that may not be fully captured by the consumer 

complaint database, for example, through the FTC 

Internet Lab, spam database, Web surfs, and consumer surveys.

•	 Continue to upgrade and enhance the Consumer 

Sentinel Network and maintain it as the premier 

consumer protection law enforcement information 

resource.

•	 Upgrade and enhance the spam database.

•	 Recruit state, local, federal, and foreign law enforcement agencies to join Consumer Sentinel Network 

and contribute complaint data, and train them to take 

full advantage of its features.

•	 Make comprehensive consumer complaint information, as well as the analysis of that information, available to the FTC’s law enforcement partners through 

the Consumer Sentinel Network.
Performance Plan 13 Fiscal Year 2009

FY 2009 Performance Measures

•	 Improve the capacity to receive and integrate complaints from U.S. and foreign sources and facilitate the 

exchange of that data with law enforcement officials 

in the U.S. and other countries.

•	 Encourage consumers to report fraud, identity theft, 

and do not call complaints by increasing public 

awareness of the complaint process.

•	 Mine the reported complaint data to identify enforcement targets and provide pertinent information to 

public and private sector partners.

•	 Coordinate with enforcement partners and other 

sources of case generation leads, and conduct advertising reviews, test shopping, and Web surfs.

•	 Identify novel or challenging consumer protection 

problems.

•	 Identify key areas of noncompliance in the consumer 

credit reporting system.

•	 Ensure the quality, security, and integrity of the 

Consumer Sentinel Network and its data.

•	 Collect and enter into the FTC’s consumer information system more than 1.75 million complaints and 

inquiries.

•	 Determine if at least 65 percent of the agency’s consumer protection law enforcement actions are responsive to the consumer complaint information gathered 

by the agency.

The FTC mines the complaint data and other information it 

collects to identify and target the most serious cases of fraud 

and deception and respond quickly to emerging problems.

The agency also makes this information available to its law 

enforcement partners. Information sharing helps the agency 

coordinate its efforts to fight the many serious problems 

facing consumers. It also helps the agency leverage law 
Performance Plan 14 Fiscal Year 2009

Evaluations

enforcement resources, as other agencies who have access 

to the complaint data can take appropriate action to address 

consumer problems.

The first performance measure will ensure that the agency 

assimilates a large number of consumer complaints, including complaints about Do Not Call violations. The agency will 

receive these complaints from a variety of sources, including direct consumer complaints to the FTC and complaints 

received by the FTC’s partners. In this manner, the FTC will 

be collecting robust information to inform its law enforcement efforts. The second measure will ensure that the FTC’s 

law enforcement actions are responsive to the needs identified by consumers.

•	 Assess whether the FTC’s law enforcement and education efforts are addressing the leading areas identified by the consumer complaint information gathered 

by the agency.

•	 Assess the extent to which the consumer complaint 

and other information made available by the agency 

is used by staff and its law enforcement partners.

•	 Review current functions and determine what 

changes or upgrades to the Consumer Sentinel 

Network would be helpful.

•	 Assess security and integrity protections for the 

Consumer Sentinel Network and evaluate the policies 

in place.

In conducting its activity evaluations under this objective, as 

well as each of the other objectives set forth in this strategic 

plan, the FTC will work to improve the integration of budget 

and performance by linking goals and objectives to results; 

develop improved processes for collection, use, and analysis 

of management data; and follow a basic standard of data 

quality, including objectivity, utility, and integrity for the 
Performance Plan 15 Fiscal Year 2009

Objective 1.2: Stop fraud, deception, unfairness, and 

other unlawful practices through law enforcement

Privacy and 

Data Security

Do Not Call and 

Telemarketing

Financial Services

information used in measuring performance, and for any 

performance or other data that the agency may distribute 

publicly.

The FTC protects consumers by enforcing Section 5 of 

the FTC Act, which prohibits unfair or deceptive acts or 

practices in or affecting commerce, as well as by enforcing an increasing number of statutes and rules proscribing 

specific unlawful practices. The agency initiates civil cases, 

primarily by filing actions in federal court, which allege 

that defendants have violated these laws and rules and seek 

injunctions and other relief. The agency’s main areas for law 

enforcement activity in 2009 will include the following: 

Protecting consumers in the financial services marketplace 

will remain a critical part of the FTC’s consumer protection goal. The agency will center its activities on mortgage 

lending, mortgage foreclosure rescue fraud, debt collection, 

and credit-related deception. The agency will focus its law 

enforcement work on the subprime lending market. FTC 

actions will target deceptive or unfair practices by mortgage 

brokers, lenders, and loan servicers in all stages of mortgage 

lending - from advertising and marketing through loan 

servicing.

The FTC will continue its efforts to protect consumers’ 

privacy by enforcing relevant laws requiring companies to 

maintain reasonable safeguards to protect sensitive consumer information. The FTC also will continue to enforce the 

Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, the Gramm-LeachBliley Act, and the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions 

Act. Other enforcement efforts in privacy will center on cases 

involving claims touting the privacy and security features of 

products and services.

The FTC will continue to enforce the Telemarketing Sales 

Rule vigorously, including the Do Not Call provisions that 

prohibit most telemarketing to consumers who place their 

telephone numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry.
Performance Plan 16 Fiscal Year 2009

Hispanic 

Enforcement 

Initiative

Spam, Spyware, 

and Other HighTech Problems

Order Enforcement 

The FTC will also continue to enforce the Do Not Call provisions prohibiting “abandoned calls,” which fail to connect 

consumers to a live operator within two seconds.

The FTC will continue to bring cases against those who 

abuse technology. As part of this work, the FTC will continue to enforce laws prohibiting unfair and deceptive spam 

email. The FTC will also work to stop spyware and other 

high-tech problems that plague consumers. The FTC will 

invest in high-tech tools to analyze new problems, collect 

and review evidence, and protect consumers from becoming 

victimized by viruses or other security and infrastructure 

threats.

The FTC will direct resources to tackling deceptive and 

unfair practices in mobile marketing. The agency will continue to research this issue and take action as appropriate.

The deceptive marketing of products that may affect consumer health and safety will continue to be an FTC priority. The FTC will focus on health care products, including 

dietary supplements. Consumer demand for such products 

is increasing, and fraudulent or deceptive claims about these 

products can pose risks to consumers’ well-being.

The FTC will continue its vigorous pursuit of scammers 

targeting the Hispanic community, by taking law enforcement action and working with its partners to fight fraud in 

this community.

The FTC will continue to promote the work of its Criminal 

Liaison Unit (CLU), dedicated to encourage criminal prosecution of consumer fraud by coordinating with criminal 

law enforcement authorities on consumer fraud cases. CLU 

identifies law enforcement agencies and case agents for 

referral of specific types of consumer fraud cases, educates 

criminal law enforcement authorities about the FTC and its 

mission, and coordinates training of FTC staff by criminal 

law enforcement to help staff prepare cases for referral and 

ensure smooth progress of parallel prosecutions.

The FTC will also continue to focus on individuals and 

companies that already are subject to FTC and federal court 

orders as a result of prior FTC law enforcement actions, and 

Mobile Marketing

Health Care Products 

and Services
Performance Plan 17 Fiscal Year 2009

Strategies

FY 2009 Implementation Plan

will place a high priority on enforcing orders against repeat 

offenders as well as against those who act in concert with 

them.

•	 Stop injury to consumers by applying fundamental 

consumer protection principles to new practices, such 

as those arising from emerging payment systems and 

the convergence of information technologies.

•	 Halt advertising and marketing practices that are 

most injurious to consumers or that prey on specific 

groups of vulnerable consumers.

•	 Challenge practices that threaten consumer privacy.

•	 Enforce consumer credit statutes and rules to protect 

consumers from deceptive lending practices and 

other illegal credit practices.

•	 Update, rescind, or promulgate trade regulation rules 

and other agency rules in response to regulatory 

reviews and Congressional mandates.

•	 Create and implement a comprehensive orderenforcement program that targets those individuals and corporations that violate federal court and 

administrative orders obtained by the FTC.

•	 Promote the criminal prosecution of the most egregious fraud violators through coordination and cooperation with criminal law enforcement authorities.

•	 Target law enforcement toward violations that create the greatest risks to consumer health, safety, and 

economic well-being by reviewing complaints, evaluating practices in the marketplace, and monitoring 

industry data and other information.
Performance Plan 18 Fiscal Year 2009

•	 Enforce protections for consumers from fraud, deception, and other abuse perpetrated through different 

media such as direct mail, telemarketing, Web sites, 

and new technologies.

•	 Monitor national advertising in print, television, 

radio, and online to identify illegal practices that may 

not be captured fully by the complaint database.

•	 Identify industries whose consumer data is at high 

risk and use law enforcement to promote better 

data security practices through enforcement of the 

Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, the Fair Credit Reporting 

Act, and Section 5 of the FTC Act.

•	 Administer and enforce the National Do Not Call 

Registry.

•	 Enhance government efforts to deter, prevent, defend, 

investigate, and prosecute identity theft by continuing 

to implement the recommendations of the President’s 

Identity Theft Task Force and through the FTC’s own 

activities.

•	 Develop and maintain the order-enforcement database to improve the monitoring of compliance with 

federal court and administrative orders and bring 

actions against those individuals and companies that 

violate those orders.

•	 Train FTC staff to improve investigative and litigation 

skills through formal activities that teach best practices used in government and private industry.

•	 Increase the FTC’s capacity to respond rapidly to 

fast-moving technology-based scams by enhancing 

the Internet Lab and increasing tech-savvy litigation 

support.

•	 Leverage FTC enforcement resources by recruiting, 

supporting, and coordinating local, state, federal, and 

international law enforcement partners for initiatives 

and sweeps.
Performance Plan 19 Fiscal Year 2009

FY 2009 Performance Measure

•	 Work with criminal prosecutors and investigators to 

promote criminal prosecution of FTC fraud defendants and those who assist their deceptive practices.

•	 Save consumers approximately $400 million through 

law enforcement.

The FTC calculates consumer savings by totaling the estimated annual sales of defendants in the 12 months prior to 

the FTC’s contacting the defendants or filing a complaint. 

The calculation actually underestimates the agency’s impact 

because it assumes that the challenged business practices 

would have continued for only one more year and it ignores 

the deterrent effect of FTC enforcement.

•	 Track number of enforcement actions brought and 

amount of economic injury to consumers stopped and 

determine where resources need to be shifted.

•	 Evaluate whether enforcement activities are tracking 

the areas of greatest concern and injury to consumers 

and whether there are new practices or technologies 

that require additional consumer protection law 

enforcement.

Consumer and business education serves as the first line of 

defense against fraud, deception, and unfair practices. Most 

FTC law enforcement initiatives include a consumer and/or 

business education component aimed at preventing consumer injury and unlawful business practices, and mitigating financial losses. From time to time, the agency conducts 

pre-emptive consumer and business education campaigns 

Evaluations

Objective 1.3: Prevent consumer injury through education
Performance Plan 20 Fiscal Year 2009

Strategies

FY 2009 Implementation Plan

to raise awareness of new or emerging marketplace issues 

that have the potential to cause harm. The agency creatively 

uses new technologies and private and public partnerships 

to reach new and under-served audiences, particularly those 

who may not seek information directly from the FTC. The 

FTC will continue to publicize its consumer complaint and 

identity theft Web site addresses and toll-free numbers in 

an ongoing effort to increase public awareness of its activities and inform the public of the ways to contact the FTC to 

obtain information or file a complaint. 

•	 Focus consumer and business education efforts on 

areas where fraud, deception, unfair practices, and 

information gaps cause the greatest injury.

•	 Leverage resources (by working with federal, state, 

local, international, and private sector partners) to 

maximize the reach of consumer and business education campaigns.

•	 Target particular demographic groups with messages 

about marketplace issues that impact their health, 

safety, and economic well-being.

•	 Deliver efficiently and effectively educational information in English and Spanish to consumers, industry 

members, and law enforcement partners on how to 

prevent consumer injury, avoid unlawful business 

practices, and enhance consumer welfare.

•	 Focus efforts on high-profile or emerging issues – for 

example, financial literacy, identity theft, online privacy, and Internet scams – to close information gaps. 

•	 Find new and creative ways to reach consumers with 

information about marketplace issues that can cause 
Performance Plan 21 Fiscal Year 2009

them financial injury and to reach businesses with 

information that increases knowledge about consumer risks and compliance.

•	 Monitor, review, and provide guidance to parents 

and children on marketing that may affect children 

and teenagers.

•	 Build partnerships with industry and advocacy 

organizations to lead more visitors to the FTC’s Web 

site (www.ftc.gov) and to other issue-oriented Web 

sites developed by the FTC such as, www.DoNotCall.

gov, www.OnGuardOnLine.gov, and www.

DontServeTeens.gov.

•	 Continue to build relationships with international 

organizations to educate consumers and businesses 

about cross-border consumer protection issues.

•	 Increase media coverage to broadcast the agency’s 

education message to a broader audience.

•	 Launch a new consumer and business education 

campaign on “green marketing” involving claims 

from carbon offsets and other climate-related issues to 

recycling, energy savings, and landfill reduction. 

•	 Continue education programs to meet the demand for 

information about significant events in the marketplace, including data security, and other initiatives, 

including the Business Opportunity Rule, Energy 

Guide, etc.

•	 Continue to integrate e-government initiatives into 

activities.

•	 Track FTC’s consumer protection messages to determine whether they are accessed online or in print a 

total of more than 55 million times.

FY 2009 Performance Measures
Performance Plan 22 Fiscal Year 2009

Evaluations

•	 Determine whether within the total of FTC’s consumer protection messages accessed online or in 

print, the messages relating to identity theft are 

accessed more than 10 million times.

•	 Determine whether within the total of FTC’s consumer protection messages accessed online or in 

print, the messages in Spanish are accessed more than 

3 million times.

•	 Determine whether external print media, such as 

newspapers, magazines, business and trade journals, 

and professional journals, publish more than 2,750 

articles that refer to FTC consumer protection activities and whether the circulation of the media that 

publish those articles is more than 750 million.

Consumer and business education are crucial tools in preventing and reducing consumer harm efficiently and effectively. These performance measures will help ensure that 

the agency is engaging in a sufficient amount of educational 

activity and that the educational materials are aimed at new 

trends and at particularly vulnerable populations. They also 

will ensure that the FTC is publicizing its education materials in the best way possible.

•	 Assess whether the appropriate mix of media is being 

used to communicate consumer education messages 

and whether the FTC is making the most efficient use 

of available media and technology.

•	 Assess the number and range of public and private 

sector organizations that partner with the FTC on 

outreach.

•	 Determine whether the FTC needs to reach new 

audiences, in light of any changes in demographics, 

advertising, and marketing practices, and what strategies or partnerships may allow the FTC to reach those 

audiences.
Performance Plan 23 Fiscal Year 2009

•	 Review the focus of FTC education efforts and adjust 

them based on changing consumer and business 

needs.

•	 Continue to assess the consumer information needs of 

the Spanish-speaking population.

The FTC uses a variety of strategies in addition to law 

enforcement and education to enhance consumer welfare.

The agency convenes conferences and workshops through 

which experts and other experienced and knowledgeable 

parties identify novel or challenging consumer protection 

issues and discuss ways to address those issues. The FTC 

also issues reports requested or mandated by Congress or 

the President, or that the agency has prepared on its own 

initiative, that analyze consumer protection problems and 

suggest public and private sector policies to address them, 

such as self-regulatory efforts. Further, the FTC files comments with federal and state government bodies advocating 

policies that promote the interests of consumers and highlight the role of consumer and empirical research in their 

decision making. The agency testifies before Congress on 

consumer protection issues. The FTC engages in a variety of 

international cooperation, exchange, and advocacy activities designed to promote market-based consumer protection policies and effective cross-border coordination. The 

FTC also files amicus briefs to aid courts’ considerations of 

important consumer protection issues.

•	 Focus workshops and conferences on emerging or 

challenging consumer protection problems, especially 

those related to new technologies.

•	 Issue reports mandated by law and other reports 

that articulate concrete measures that the public and 

Objective 1.4: Enhance consumer welfare through research, 

reports, advocacy, and international cooperation and exchange

Strategies
Performance Plan 24 Fiscal Year 2009

FY 2009 Implementation Plan

private sectors could take to address consumer protection problems, particularly those related to new or 

emerging technologies.

•	 Target advocacy activities to encourage state, federal, 

and foreign government policymakers to evaluate 

both the costs and benefits of their policies for consumers, emphasizing the impact on consumers of 

policies that unnecessarily affect the dissemination of 

truthful, non-misleading information to consumers 

and the interplay of competition and consumer protection concerns.

•	 Use letters and public comments to urge state, federal, 

and foreign government policymakers to consider 

consumer research and other empirical data in their 

decisions regarding the costs and benefits of their 

policies for consumers.

•	 Pursue the development of an international marketbased consumer protection model, which focuses on 

protecting consumers from significant harm while 

maximizing economic benefit, consumer access to 

information, and consumer choice.

•	 Encourage industry self-regulation where consumer 

protection problems are emerging, industry has a 

comparative advantage in addressing the problems, 

and/or legal or practical limitations constrain the 

government’s ability to act.

•	 Convene workshops and conferences and issue 

reports (including those required by law).

•	 Analyze federal and state government policies and 

identify those that impose costs on consumers that 

may exceed their benefits to consumers, especially 

policies that affect the dissemination of truthful, nonmisleading information to consumers.
Performance Plan 25 Fiscal Year 2009

•	 File comments or otherwise engage in advocacy with 

state, federal, and foreign government policymakers 

that evaluate both the costs and benefits of proposed 

policies on consumers, with a particular emphasis 

on the role of consumer research and other empirical data in their decisions, and an awareness of the 

intersection of competition and consumer protection 

concerns.

•	 File amicus curiae briefs in state and federal courts 

urging adoption of legal principles that promote 

consumer welfare.

•	 Present major policy speeches that discuss emerging 

or challenging consumer protection problems and 

explain the FTC’s approach to them.

•	 Identify through monitoring or other means consumer protection problems that industry self-regulation could effectively combat and work with industry 

to adopt such self-regulatory measures.

•	 Further the FTC’s Congressionally-endorsed efforts to 

promote industry self-regulation in the marketing of 

entertainment and food and alcohol.

•	 In rulemakings, evaluate the regulatory effect on 

industry, consumers, and other parties, invite public 

comment, coordinate with other agencies, and promulgate rules accordingly.

•	 Publicize advocacy comments to increase public 

awareness of consumer protection problems and 

solutions.

•	 Convene or participate substantially in approximately six workshops and conferences and issue 

approximately eight reports on topics such as novel 

FY 2009 Performance Measures
Performance Plan 26 Fiscal Year 2009

Evaluations

or challenging consumer protection problems, including issues related to the scope and effectiveness of 

self-regulation.

•	 File approximately six public and advocacy comments with other federal and state government 

bodies helping them to assess the costs and benefits 

to consumers of their policies and the implication of 

consumer research and other empirical data for their 

policy decisions, where appropriate.

•	 Cooperate with foreign government agencies on 

at least 20 enforcement matters with cross-border 

components.

•	 Provide policy or technical input to foreign government agencies or international organizations in at 

least 20 instances involving consumer protection.

Public policy that enhances consumer welfare is based on 

a thorough understanding of complex issues, which arises 

from dialogue, study, and empirical research. Such policy 

also appreciates that stakeholders other than government, 

such as industry associations or private standard-setting 

organizations, may be better placed to address certain 

consumer protection issues. These performance measures 

will help ensure that the agency augments its enforcement 

and education efforts by encouraging discussions among all 

interested parties, as well as careful study of and empirical 

research on novel or challenging consumer protection problems. These activities will help enhance consumer welfare 

by promoting sound consumer protection policies, as well 

as the decision of other state, federal, and international 

policymakers.

•	 Determine whether reports issued by the FTC following workshops or conferences are issued timely 

(approximately within nine months for reports that 

simply summarize the proceedings), and contribute to 

progress on the issue of the workshop or conference.
Performance Plan 27 Fiscal Year 2009

•	 Evaluate whether the FTC is filing comments or otherwise engaging in advocacy with state, federal, and 

foreign government bodies on consumer protection 

policies that will have a significant impact on consumers and whether the recipients of these comments 

give weight to the views expressed in these comments 

in making policy decisions that affect consumers.

•	 Assess whether industry gives weight to the FTC’s 

evaluation, monitoring, and advocacy, and whether 

market interests are affected.

•	 Determine the scope and frequency of citation of and 

reference to FTC reports, studies, conference materials, and major policy speeches by other policymakers, 

academics, the courts, and the media.

Performance Plan 29 Fiscal Year 2009

Maintaining Competition

Fiscal Year 2009

Goal 2: To prevent

anticompetitive

mergers and other

anticompetitive

business practices

in the marketplace

Objective 2.1: Identify anticompetitive mergers and 

practices that cause the greatest consumer injury

The Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Premerger Notification Act 

provides the FTC an effective starting point for identifying 

anticompetitive mergers before they are consummated.

The FTC administers the HSR program both for itself and 

for the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Antitrust Division, 

which shares authority to challenge anticompetitive mergers. Mergers reported to the FTC vary tremendously in their 

complexity and potential anticompetitive effect. In most 

cases, the agency can make a reasonable judgment within a 

few days of filing about whether a merger has the potential 

to be anticompetitive, competitively neutral, or procompetitive, simply by reviewing materials filed with the notification or after a brief inquiry within an initial 30-day waiting 

period. In a relatively small percentage of cases, an investigation can take months and require a major commitment 

of resources. Taken overall, the HSR program generates a 

portion of the cases indentified for review and that may lead 

to an enforcement action.

In addition to HSR notifications, the FTC also uses trade 

press articles, consumer and competitor complaints, and 

other means to identify potentially anticompetitive mergers 

that were not required to be reported under HSR, or that 

were not reported in violation of HSR. Moreover, the agency 

continues to monitor consummated mergers to ensure that 

transactions do not generate unexpected anticompetitive 

consequences.

There is no comparable statutorily mandated program to 

help identify anticompetitive business practices. The FTC 

must instead employ a variety of methods to identify potentially anticompetitive practices (for example, consumer and 

competitor complaints, referrals from other government 

agencies, and monitoring the trade press).
Performance Plan 30 Fiscal Year 2009

Strategies

•	 Continue to make efficient use of the initial 30-day 

period after HSR filings (or 15 days for a cash tender 

offer and certain bankruptcy transactions) to determine whether a more detailed investigation is needed 

to assess whether a merger is likely to harm competition, and to avoid unnecessary extended investigations, including prompt inter-agency clearance and 

timely review.

•	 Use trade press articles, consumer and competitor 

complaints, and other means to identify potentially 

anticompetitive mergers that were not required to 

be reported under HSR, or that were not reported 

in violation of HSR, and potentially anticompetitive 

nonmerger business practices.

•	 When appropriate, issue requests for additional information under HSR to determine whether a merger is 

likely to be anticompetitive.

•	 When appropriate, use compulsory process in merger 

and nonmerger investigations to obtain additional 

information needed to make an informed judgment 

about the anticompetitive potential of mergers and 

nonmerger practices.

•	 Apply merger process reforms to conduct investigations more efficiently, in order to enhance enforcement outcomes while minimizing burdens on 

business.

•	 Employ integrated teams of lawyers, economists, 

and other professionals to conduct an economically 

sound, fact-based analysis of mergers and other 

potentially anticompetitive business practices. Retain 

outside experts and consultants in relevant fields of 

expertise, as needed, when specialized supplementary 

resources would enhance enforcement outcomes.

•	 Work with state or local officials, other federal agencies, or international agencies to maximize resources 

in identifying anticompetitive mergers and business 
Performance Plan 31 Fiscal Year 2009

FY 2009 Implementation Plan

practices, and to minimize, to the extent possible, 

burdens on enforcers and business and duplication of 

effort, and to avoid conflicting remedies. 

•	 Track and maintain the timeliness of investigations 

and merger review under the HSR program.

•	 Refine the investigative and decisional tools used in 

both merger and nonmerger investigations through 

continuous learning.

•	 Identify emerging trends and focus on potentially 

anticompetitive business practices or other issues that 

need to be addressed because of changes in the economy, technology, and the marketplace, drawing upon 

the results of hearings, task forces, agency studies and 

reports, and other means.

•	 Continue to integrate e-government initiatives, such 

as electronic premerger filing, into activities. 

•	 Continue to improve the investigative skills and 

antitrust analysis training programs.

•	 Identify “best practices” used by government and 

private antitrust attorneys and use this knowledge in 

training FTC staff.

•	 Continue effective screening of mergers under the 

HSR program so that all reported mergers that raise 

potentially significant competitive issues undergo an 

appropriate investigation. 

•	 Continue to assess the merger review process 

to determine if additional changes are needed 

to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of 

investigations.

•	 Continue to use and improve existing techniques for 

identifying anticompetitive business practices, such as 

monitoring the trade press, responding to and following up on case leads by Congressional offices, other 
Performance Plan 32 Fiscal Year 2009

FY 2009 Performance Measures

Executive Branch agencies, and state and local governments, and informing potentially aggrieved parties that they can lodge complaints with the agency 

by “getting FTC’s message out” through speeches and 

electronic and other publications for consumer, bar, 

and business groups (including those representing 

specific industries), and general public outreach. 

•	 Continue effective administration of the review of 

nonmerger practices so that the FTC may investigate 

those that raise potentially significant competitive 

issues.

•	 Apply to FTC practices the results of hearings, conferences, reports, studies, and workshops on significant 

competition issues.

•	 Continue discussions among attorneys in the FTC’s 

regional offices and in the nonmerger divisions on 

ways to improve techniques for monitoring business practices and for identifying anticompetitive 

practices.

•	 Collect data, for management review, regarding the 

FTC’s efficiency in conducting investigations, such 

as the amount of time required to complete the HSR 

review process, the number of HSR matters requiring 

issuance of an investigative second request, the number of HSR and significant nonmerger investigations 

that result in enforcement action, the number of hours 

of staff time spent on investigations, and other costs 

associated with investigations.

•	 Review significant deviations from the statistical benchmarks for timely and efficient review of 

merger transactions and take corrective action where 

necessary.

•	 Continue effective administration of merger review 

under the HSR program so that at least 90 percent of 

HSR requests for additional information result in a 
Performance Plan 33 Fiscal Year 2009

FY 2009 Informative Measures 

positive outcome, which includes Commission authorization of a complaint for preliminary injunction in 

federal court, issuance of an administrative complaint, 

acceptance of a consent agreement, the parties’ voluntary abandonment or restructuring of a proposed 

transaction based on FTC antitrust concerns, and 

closing of an investigation without subsequent events 

indicating that the transaction injured competition.

•	 Continue effective administration of the nonmerger 

activity so that at least 90 percent of significant nonmerger investigations (those with at least 150 hours of 

investigative effort) will result in a positive outcome, 

which includes Commission authorization to file a 

complaint in federal court, issuance of an administrative complaint, acceptance of a consent agreement, 

resolution of antitrust concerns without enforcement 

action, or closing of an investigation without subsequent events indicating that the business practice 

injured competition.

Success on these measures will indicate that the FTC is 

effectively screening HSR-reported mergers and nonmerger 

investigations to identify those that raise significant antitrust issues and warrant further investigation and possible 

enforcement action. Setting high goals for positive outcomes 

from these investigations demonstrates the FTC’s commitment to targeting its enforcement resources effectively.

Failure to meet these measures would result in an evaluation 

of the FTC’s screening process used to identify potential 

competition problems and target investigatory resources.

Three additional measures under this objective require the 

Commission to report detailed supplemental information 

on its merger and nonmerger activities. These measures 

are directly related to the two key performance measures 

described above and are intended to facilitate the evaluation 

of performance results.
Performance Plan 34 Fiscal Year 2009

Evaluations

•	 Track the number of enforcement actions undertaken in Maintaining Competition and, separately, 

in the merger and nonmerger activities, including 

Commission authorization of a complaint for preliminary injunction or permanent relief in federal 

court, issuance of an administrative complaint, and 

acceptance of a consent agreement, and, for mergers, 

the parties’ voluntary abandonment or restructuring 

of a proposed transaction based on FTC antitrust 

concerns.

•	 In conjunction with the prior merger review performance measure, report the number of second 

requests issued, the number of reportable transactions 

for which premerger notifications were received, 

the number of HSR investigations that resulted in 

enforcement action, the number of transactions in 

which antitrust issues were resolved through voluntary abandonment or restructuring because of FTC 

concerns, and the number of investigations closed 

because the evidence indicated that a competitive 

problem was unlikely.

•	 In conjunction with the prior nonmerger measure, 

report the number of significant nonmerger investigations closed each year, with or without enforcement 

action. 

•	 Assess markets where investigations were closed 

without enforcement action, explore whether 

outcomes remain positive over time, and use this 

information to enhance the agency’s ability to 

predict likely competitive consequences in future 

investigations.

•	 If there was a failure to investigate a merger or 

business practice, known to the agency, which had 

a significant potential for causing competitive and 

consumer harm, assess whether there were factors 
Performance Plan 35 Fiscal Year 2009

Objective 2.2: Stop anticompetitive mergers and 

practices through law enforcement

Strategies

that indicated the presence of a competitive problem 

that the agency should have reasonably been able to 

identify.

•	 Assess the burden imposed on merger parties by the 

HSR merger investigation process, explore ways of 

reducing that burden without compromising effectiveness of investigations, and explore methods of 

measuring HSR compliance burden.

•	 Assess the FTC’s efficiency in conducting antitrust 

investigations, explore ways to increase efficient 

use of investigatory resources and reduce burdens 

on business, and explore whether we can more 

meaningfully measure our efficiency in conducting 

investigations.

This enforcement objective includes both obtaining orders to 

stop anticompetitive activity (either through litigation or by 

consent) and ensuring that the remedies imposed by those 

orders are effective. Conduct that reduces competition is 

likely to cause consumers to pay higher prices or enjoy lower 

quality than they otherwise would. Antitrust enforcement 

provides substantial benefits to consumers by preventing 

anticompetitive mergers and other coordinated or unilateral 

conduct that is likely to lessen competition.

•	 Continue to benefit consumers in markets significant 

to them by challenging anticompetitive mergers and 

other nonmerger anticompetitive conduct, negotiating 

consent orders, and winning litigated orders, resulting in millions of dollars in consumer savings.
Performance Plan 36 Fiscal Year 2009

FY 2009 Implementation Plan

•	 Negotiate merger and nonmerger consent orders and 

win litigated orders that have significant remedial, 

precedential, and deterrent effects.

•	 Improve negotiation and litigation skills through 

continuous learning.

•	 Apply the merger process reforms to conduct 

investigations more efficiently, in order to enhance 

enforcement outcomes while minimizing burdens on 

business.

•	 Improve the FTC’s capacity to promote consumer 

welfare by applying the information gained through 

workshops, hearings, and research projects that 

improve its understanding of significant antitrust 

issues.

•	 Retain outside experts and consultants in relevant 

fields of expertise, as needed, when specialized 

supplementary resources would enhance enforcement 

outcomes.

•	 Continue to integrate e-government initiatives into 

activities.

•	 Ensure that administrative litigation and adjudication 

reach a timely resolution.

•	 Improve the integration of budget and performance 

by linking goals and objectives to results; develop 

improved processes for use and analysis of management data.

•	 Challenge anticompetitive mergers and business 

practices in federal court or through administrative 

litigation, and obtain relief with significant remedial, 

precedential, and deterrent effects.
Performance Plan 37 Fiscal Year 2009

FY 2009 Performance Measures

•	 Resolve anticompetitive mergers and practices, where 

possible, by negotiating consent orders that secure 

relief with significant remedial, precedential, and 

deterrent effects without the need for litigation.

•	 Retain outside experts and consultants in relevant 

fields of expertise, as needed, when specialized 

supplementary resources would enhance enforcement 

outcomes.

•	 Continue to improve negotiation and litigation skills 

through training programs. Ensure that lead attorneys 

and managers collect any important lessons learned at 

the close of each significant negotiation and litigation 

and transmit them to appropriate personnel for incorporation in training programs and model pleadings.

•	 Continue to monitor implementation of divestitures 

and other requirements of the FTC’s merger consent 

orders. Seek civil penalties where appropriate if a 

respondent fails to fulfill its obligations under an 

order in a timely fashion.

•	 Continue to seek improvements in both the substantive aspects of remedies, as well as the process by 

which they are derived.

•	 Achieve a positive result (including consent orders, 

litigation victories, or, for mergers, transactions 

abandoned after recommendation of a complaint) 

in at least 80 percent of cases in which the FTC takes 

enforcement action.

•	 Take action against mergers likely to harm competition in markets with a total of at least $25 billion in 

sales.

•	 Save consumers an estimated $500 million through 

enforcement actions against mergers likely to harm 

competition.
Performance Plan 38 Fiscal Year 2009

•	 Achieve a level of consumer savings from merger 

enforcement that is at least six times the amount of 

agency resources (in dollars of total resources) allocated to the merger activity during that period.

•	 Take action against nonmerger anticompetitive conduct in markets with a total of at least $8 billion in 

annual sales.

•	 Save consumers an estimated $80 million through 

enforcement actions against nonmerger anticompetitive conduct likely to harm competition.

•	 Achieve a level of consumer savings from nonmerger 

enforcement that is at least four times the amount of 

agency resources (in dollars of total resources) allocated to the nonmerger activity during that period.

Because external factors may cause the results to fluctuate 

significantly from year to year, the latter six goals are to be 

evaluated in terms of an aggregate target for the five-year 

strategic plan period, rather than as a yearly target.

These measures evaluate agency performance in several 

ways: the percentage of enforcement actions that have successful outcomes, the volume of commerce affected (benefited) by merger and nonmerger enforcement action, the 

estimated dollar savings to consumers resulting from merger 

and nonmerger enforcement action, and the estimated dollar 

savings to consumers per dollar of enforcement resources. In 

the absence of case-specific information, the dollar savings 

to consumers is conservatively estimated as one percent of 

the volume of commerce in the affected markets (for two 

years in merger cases and for one year in nonmerger cases).

This is not intended as a precise estimate of consumer savings, but, rather, as an indication of general magnitude, 

even though a more precise estimate based on case-specific 

information will be used whenever possible. The use of a 

volume of sales performance measure does not mean that 

the FTC will only investigate and take enforcement action in 

markets with large sales volumes. The FTC will continue to 

investigate and take enforcement action as necessary in all 

markets where considerable consumer harm is likely. The 

benchmarks for the estimated dollar savings to consumers 

per dollar of enforcement resources for merger and non-
Performance Plan 39 Fiscal Year 2009

Evaluations

merger actions are based on historical experience, reflecting 

the different mix of cases and the different investigative and 

enforcement processes.

These measures will help guide the agency in challenging 

conduct that causes substantial consumer injury through 

targeting of its resources effectively and efficiently. These 

measures provide a gauge of the appropriateness of case 

selection and resolution, whether through litigation or settlement, as well as of the crafting of sufficient and effective 

remedies.

•	 Assess the scope of the FTC’s annual merger enforcement activities, as reflected by the volume of commerce in markets in which the agency took merger 

enforcement action. Determine whether the total 

volume of commerce in such markets is likely to 

reach $40 billion and determine whether the level 

of consumer savings is likely to reach $800 million.

Compare the likely consumer welfare impact in these 

markets to the resources spent on this goal.

•	 Assess the scope of the FTC’s annual nonmerger 

enforcement activities, as reflected by the volume of 

commerce in markets in which the agency took nonmerger enforcement action. Determine whether the 

total volume of commerce in such markets is likely 

to reach $20 billion and determine whether the level 

of consumer savings is likely to reach $200 million.

Compare the likely consumer welfare impact in these 

markets to the resources spent on this goal.

•	 Assess qualitatively the deterrence value and precedential significance of the enforcement actions 

brought during FY 2009.

•	 Where warranted, conduct periodic retrospective 

studies of past investigative and enforcement activity to determine the extent to which the FTC’s case 

selection process is accurately identifying matters that 

require FTC intervention.
Performance Plan 40 Fiscal Year 2009

Objective 2.3: Prevent consumer injury through education

Strategies

•	 Evaluate litigation performance for lessons that may 

be applicable to future litigation.

•	 Review the results of major competition research 

initiatives to identify their usefulness in guiding 

FTC decisions and influencing other policymakers’ 

approaches to competition issues.

•	 Closely monitor the characteristics of individual 

merger and nonmerger matters that comprise the 

basis for estimating volume of commerce and consumer savings. Determine whether the anomalous 

nature of the relevant product market involved 

suggests excluding a specific matter or adjusting the 

targets.

The FTC increases awareness of antitrust law through guidance to the business community; outreach efforts to federal, 

state, and local agencies, business groups, and consumers; 

development and publication of antitrust guidelines and 

policy statements; and speeches and publications. In carrying out these functions, the FTC strives to ensure that any 

publicly disseminated data or information subject to the 

Data Quality Act (section 515 of Public Law No. 106-554) 

exceeds basic quality standards.

•	 Educate consumers and businesses about antitrust 

issues through traditional means such as guidelines, 

advisory opinions, reports, articles in professional 

or other publications, speeches, and participation in 

professional organizations.
Performance Plan 41 Fiscal Year 2009

FY 2009 Implementation Plan

•	 Educate businesses through detailed information regarding agency actions on the FTC website, 

and in press releases, reports, articles, and other 

publications.

•	 Continue to conduct and disseminate the results of 

public hearings, conferences, and workshops on practices and developments in the marketplace and the 

results of economic research on how markets operate.

•	 Continue to enhance avenues of communication with 

consumers and business, such as email and the FTC 

website.

•	 Ensure that the content of complaints, press releases, 

and analyses to aid public comment are “transparent,” that is, that they explain in sufficient detail 

and with sufficient clarity the evidence and theory 

of a case, within the constraints of confidentiality 

requirements.

•	 Expand the use of other public statements to explain 

why the Commission elected not to take enforcement 

action in certain matters to further improve the public’s understanding of the FTC’s enforcement policies.

•	 Engage in outreach to lay groups such as schools to 

provide information about the work of the FTC and 

basic principles of economics and competition.

•	 Engage in outreach to foreign competition agencies to 

facilitate the agency’s efforts to promote convergence 

toward sound consumer-welfare-based competition 

enforcement and policy.

•	 Issue guidance to help businesses understand and 

comply with the application of the antitrust laws in 

certain areas, such as horizontal mergers, international operations, intellectual property, and health 

care.
Performance Plan 42 Fiscal Year 2009

•	 Continue to provide Commission and staff advisory 

opinions on various competition issues; continue to 

provide guidance in response to informal requests, 

particularly concerning HSR matters.

•	 Monitor the content of complaints, press releases, and 

analyses to aid public comment to ensure they are 

“transparent,” that is, that they explain in sufficient 

detail and with sufficient clarity the evidence and 

theory of a case, within the constraints of confidentiality requirements.

•	 Expand the use of press releases and other public 

statements to explain why the Commission elected 

not to take enforcement action in certain matters to 

further improve the public’s understanding of the 

FTC’s enforcement policies.

•	 Make available prepared texts of speeches and 

develop other materials that explain FTC policies and 

procedures.

•	 Continue to have Commissioners and staff speak at 

and participate in seminars, panel discussions, and 

conferences to explain how the FTC analyzes mergers 

and other business practices.

•	 Make available to the public the materials relating to 

public hearings, conferences, and workshops on practices and developments in the marketplace, including 

transcripts, written submissions, and reports.

•	 Make available on the FTC’s website the guidance 

issued by the FTC, advisory opinions, advocacy comments, written releases, texts of speeches, Bureau of 

Economics reports, and other materials that explain 

the FTC’s policies and procedures.

•	 When opportunities arise, engage in outreach to 

lay groups to provide information about the work 

of the FTC and basic principles of economics and 

competition.

•	 Engage in outreach to foreign competition authorities 

and international competition organizations.
Performance Plan 43 Fiscal Year 2009

Evaluations

FY 2009 Performance Measures

•	 Develop and implement increasingly sophisticated 

web metric and analytical tools that will allow for a 

more accurate and representative view of the volume 

of traffic on the Commission’s antitrust related web 

pages. Monitor the results generated by the new 

web metric applications and, where necessary, make 

adjustments to the corresponding target.

•	 Track volume of traffic on the FTC website on antitrust-related pages that are relevant to policymakers, 

the business and legal communities, and the public at 

large to determine if the site receives at least 15 million visits.

•	 Determine if external print media, such as newspapers, magazines, business and trade journals, and 

professional journals, publish at least 2,700 articles 

that refer to FTC competition activities and track the 

circulation of the media that publish those articles.

•	 Evaluate what antitrust content on the FTC website 

generates the largest amount of public interest, 

and why, and use this information in setting future 

priorities.

•	 Seek input from consumer groups, business groups, 

bar groups, international competition organizations, 

and other FTC “customers” on the effectiveness of 

FTC educational efforts.

•	 Evaluate the transparency of FTC merger review policy by assessing the extent to which we communicate 

significant changes in such policy to stakeholders. 
Performance Plan 44 Fiscal Year 2009

In addition to its enforcement authority, the FTC has unique 

jurisdiction to gather, analyze, and make public certain 

information concerning the nature of competition as it affects 

U.S. commerce. The FTC uses that authority to hold public 

hearings, convene conferences and workshops, conduct 

economic studies on competition issues of significant public 

importance, and issue reports of its findings. This authority 

advances the competition goal in numerous ways.

The agency uses the information internally to refine the 

theoretical framework for analyzing competition issues and 

the empirical understanding of industry practices, which 

contributes substantially to an effective response to changing 

marketplace conditions. The information gained through 

this authority, combined with the agency’s professional 

expertise on competition issues, also contributes to a better 

understanding of business practices and their competitive 

and economic implications by various entities, including 

the business sector, the legal community, other enforcement 

authorities, the judiciary, foreign competition agencies, and 

governmental decision makers and policymakers at the 

federal, state, and local levels. In particular, the agency testifies before Congress on competition issues. The FTC uses its 

expertise to encourage governmental actors at all levels to 

evaluate both the costs and the benefits of their policies for 

consumers, and to ensure such policies promote consumer 

welfare. This advocacy includes formal and informal dialogue with state and federal policymakers and amicus curiae 

briefs filed with state and federal courts. 

In addition, dialogues with competition authorities of other 

countries and international organizations, and, in some 

cases, technical assistance to other competition authorities, 

promotes procedural consistency and the adoption of competition policies that protect and enhance consumer welfare, 

which will ultimately benefit American consumers as well as 

consumers in other countries.

Objective 2.4: Enhance consumer welfare through research, 

reports, advocacy, and international cooperation and exchange
Performance Plan 45 Fiscal Year 2009

Strategies

FY 2009 Implementation Plan

•	 Conduct public hearings, conferences, and workshops 

that bring together interested parties to enhance 

understanding of various practices and developments 

in the marketplace.

•	 Conduct studies as requested by Congress and other 

studies as appropriate.

•	 Conduct economic studies of the effects of business 

actions on competition and consumer welfare in 

accordance with agency data quality standards, as 

applicable, to ensure the quality of information that 

may be disseminated publicly.

•	 Target advocacy activities to encourage state, federal, 

and foreign government policymakers to evaluate 

both the costs and the benefits of their policies for 

consumers, emphasizing the impact on consumers of 

policies that unnecessarily restrict competition.

•	 File amicus curiae briefs with state and federal courts 

deciding important competition policy issues urging 

them to adopt legal rules that benefit consumers by 

promoting competition.

•	 Participate in dialogue with competition authorities 

of other countries and international organizations on 

trans-national competition issues that affect American 

consumers and businesses and to promote sound 

consumer-welfare-based competition policy.

•	 Participate in technical assistance missions to countries with new competition regimes.

•	 Conduct hearings, conferences, and workshops on 

significant competition issues. 
Performance Plan 46 Fiscal Year 2009

FY 2009 Performance Measures

•	 Continue to support outreach efforts to international 

bodies to explain U.S. antitrust perspectives on 

competition theories and approaches; participate in 

dialogue with competition authorities of other countries and international organizations on trans-national 

competition issues that affect American consumers 

and businesses; continue to aid the development of 

antitrust laws and programs in developing nations by 

participating in technical assistance missions.

•	 File comments or otherwise engage in advocacy with 

state, federal, and foreign government policymakers 

to encourage them to adopt policies that maximize 

consumer welfare by evaluating both the costs and 

the benefits of their policies for consumers. 

•	 Prepare amicus briefs addressing important competition policy issues under consideration in court 

proceedings.

•	 Track if FTC website pages relating to research, 

reports, advocacy, and international cooperation and 

exchange are accessed 700,000 times.

•	 Convene, or participate substantively in, at least four 

workshops, conferences, seminars, and hearings 

involving significant competition-related issues. 

•	 Issue at least eight studies, reports, working papers 

and issues papers on significant competition-related 

issues.

•	 Make at least six advocacy filings with other federal 

and state government agencies urging them to assess 

the competitive ramifications and costs and benefits 

to consumers of their policies.

•	 Issue at least two to three advisory opinions to persons seeking agency review of proposed business 

actions.
Performance Plan 47 Fiscal Year 2009

Evaluations

•	 File at least two to three amicus briefs with courts 

addressing competition-related issues.

•	 Cooperate on 30 cases with foreign competition 

authorities, provide 25 consultations with or comments to foreign competition authorities, submit 

seven written submissions to international fora, and 

attend eight international events. FTC staff should 

hold five leadership positions in international 

organizations.

Because external factors may cause the results to fluctuate 

significantly from year to year, the latter five goals are to be 

evaluated in terms of an aggregate target for the five-year 

strategic plan period. These measures will help ensure that 

the agency is engaging in appropriate types and sufficient 

levels of research, reports, advocacy, and international cooperation and exchange to ensure that they are relevant to consumers, policymakers, business, and the legal community.

•	 Include evaluation forms with workshop and conference materials to help assess whether the workshops 

and conferences are an effective means of joining the 

debate relating to these issues.

•	 Seek input from consumer groups, business groups, 

bar groups, international organizations, and others on 

the value of the agency’s research, reports, advocacy 

submissions, and international activities relating to 

Maintaining Competition.

•	 Evaluate whether the FTC is filing comments or otherwise engaging in advocacy with state, federal, and 

foreign government bodies on competition policies 

that will have a significant impact on consumers and 

whether the recipients of these comments have given 

weight to the views expressed in these comments in 

making policy decisions that affect consumers.
Performance Plan 48 Fiscal Year 2009

•	 Develop and implement increasingly sophisticated 

web metric and analytical tools that will allow for 

a more accurate and representative view of the 

volume of traffic on the Commission’s antitrust 

related web pages. Monitor the results generated 

by the new web metric applications and, where 

necessary, make adjustments to the corresponding 

target.
Fiscal Year 2010 

Performance Plan

Performance Plan 51 Fiscal Year 2010

Consumer Protection

Fiscal Year 2010

Goal 1: To prevent

fraud, deception, 

and unfair practices

in the marketplace

Objective 1.1: Identify fraud, deception, unfairness and other 

unlawful practices that cause the greatest consumer injury

To fulfill its consumer protection goal the FTC must identify 

consumer protection problems and trends in the fast-changing, increasingly global marketplace. The agency strives to 

understand issues affecting consumers, including newlyemerging methods of fraud or deceit, so that it can target its 

enforcement, education, and advocacy to those areas where 

consumers suffer the most harm. The FTC reports this information to other law enforcement authorities and encourages 

those authorities to assist in its efforts, either independently 

or jointly. In this way, the FTC can leverage its resources by 

ensuring multiple “cops on the beat.” 

To fulfill this objective, the FTC is using new technologies 

creatively and building on its broad base of private and 

public sector partners. The agency continues to collect 

consumer complaint information directly through four 

principal sources: a toll-free helpline (1-877-FTC HELP), an 

identity theft hotline (1-877-ID-THEFT), the National Do Not 

Call Registry (www.donotcall.gov), and online consumer 

complaint forms that support each of these efforts, as well as 

online forms dedicated to complaints from members of the 

U.S. Armed Forces and to cross-border fraud complaints. In 

addition, the FTC continues to gather consumer complaint 

information from other sources, including law enforcement 

agencies, Better Business Bureaus, and private entities. The 

agency makes this and other information available through 

a secure Internet Web site called the Consumer Sentinel 

Network, to more than 1,700 law enforcement partner agencies in the United States, Canada, and Australia. In addition, 

since 1998, the FTC has maintained an electronic mailbox 

(spam@uce.gov) to which Internet users are encouraged to 

forward spam. This spam is stored in a searchable database 

enabling the FTC staff to track trends and identify law 
Performance Plan 52 Fiscal Year 2010

Strategies

FY 2010 Implementation Plan

enforcement targets when researching potential cases. The 

agency augments identification of targets from its databases 

with other strategies for generating enforcement leads, such 

as ad monitoring, Internet surfs, and direct referrals from 

government and private sector partners.

•	 Continue to upgrade and enhance the Consumer 

Sentinel Network.

•	 Expand the pool of entities that make their consumer 

complaint data available to the law enforcement community through the Consumer Sentinel Network.

•	 Monitor the marketplace to identify illegal practices 

that may not be fully captured by the consumer 

complaint database, for example, through the FTC 

Internet Lab, spam database, Web surfs, and consumer surveys.

•	 Continue to upgrade and enhance the Consumer 

Sentinel Network and maintain it as the premier 

consumer protection law enforcement information 

resource.

•	 Upgrade and enhance the spam database.

•	 Recruit state, local, federal, and foreign law enforcement agencies to join the Consumer Sentinel Network 

and contribute complaint data, and train them to take 

full advantage of its features.

•	 Make comprehensive consumer complaint information, as well as the analysis of that information, available to the FTC’s law enforcement partners through 

the Consumer Sentinel Network.
Performance Plan 53 Fiscal Year 2010

FY 2010 Performance Measures

•	 Improve the capacity to receive and integrate complaints from U.S. and foreign sources and facilitate the 

exchange of that data with law enforcement officials 

in the U.S. and other countries.

•	 Encourage consumers to report fraud, identity theft, 

and do not call complaints by increasing public 

awareness of the complaint process.

•	 Mine the reported complaint data to identify enforcement targets and provide pertinent information to 

public and private sector partners.

•	 Coordinate with enforcement partners and other 

sources of case generation leads, and conduct advertising reviews, test shopping, and Web surfs.

•	 Identify novel or challenging consumer protection 

problems.

•	 Identify key areas of noncompliance in the consumer 

credit reporting system.

•	 Ensure the quality, security, and integrity of the 

Consumer Sentinel Network and its data.

•	 Collect and enter into the FTC’s consumer information system more than 1.75 million complaints and 

inquiries.

•	 Determine if at least 65 percent of the agency’s consumer protection law enforcement actions are responsive to the consumer complaint information gathered 

by the agency.

The FTC mines the complaint data and other information it 

collects to identify and target the most serious cases of fraud 

and deception and respond quickly to emerging problems.

The agency also makes this information available to its law 

enforcement partners. Information sharing helps the agency 

coordinate its efforts to fight the many serious problems 

facing consumers. It also helps the agency leverage law 
Performance Plan 54 Fiscal Year 2010

Evaluations 

enforcement resources, as other agencies who have access 

to the complaint data can take appropriate action to address 

consumer problems.

The first performance measure will ensure that the agency 

assimilates a large number of consumer complaints, including complaints about Do Not Call violations. The agency will 

receive these complaints from a variety of sources, including direct consumer complaints to the FTC and complaints 

received by the FTC’s partners. In this manner, the FTC will 

be collecting robust information to inform its law enforcement efforts. The second measure will ensure that the FTC’s 

law enforcement actions are responsive to the needs identified by consumers.

•	 Assess whether the FTC’s law enforcement and education efforts are addressing the leading areas identified by the consumer complaint information gathered 

by the agency.

•	 Assess the extent to which staff and its law enforcement partners use the consumer complaint and other 

information made available by the agency.

•	 Review current functions and determine what 

changes or upgrades to the Consumer Sentinel 

Network would be helpful.

•	 Assess security and integrity protections for the 

Consumer Sentinel Network and evaluate the policies 

in place.

In conducting its activity evaluations under this objective, as 

well as each of the other objectives set forth in this strategic 

plan, the FTC will work to improve the integration of budget 

and performance by linking goals and objectives to results; 

develop improved processes for collection, use, and analysis 

of management data; and follow a basic standard of data 

quality, including objectivity, utility, and integrity for the 
Performance Plan 55 Fiscal Year 2010

Objective 1.2: Stop fraud, deception, unfairness, and 

other unlawful practices through law enforcement

Privacy and 

Data Security

Financial Services 

information used in measuring performance, and for any 

performance or other data that the agency may distribute 

publicly.

The FTC protects consumers by enforcing Section 5 of 

the FTC Act, which prohibits unfair or deceptive acts or 

practices in or affecting commerce, as well as by enforcing an increasing number of statutes and rules proscribing 

specific unlawful practices. The agency initiates civil cases, 

primarily by filing actions in federal court, which allege 

that defendants have violated these laws and rules and seek 

injunctions and other relief. The agency’s main areas for law 

enforcement activity in 2010 will include the following: 

Protecting consumers in the financial services marketplace 

will remain a critical part of the FTC’s consumer protection goal. The agency will center its activities on mortgage 

lending, mortgage foreclosure rescue fraud, debt collection, 

and credit-related deception. The agency will focus its law 

enforcement work on the subprime lending market. FTC 

actions will target deceptive or unfair practices by mortgage 

brokers, lenders, and loan servicers in all stages of mortgage 

lending - from advertising and marketing through loan 

servicing.

The FTC will continue its efforts to protect consumers’ 

privacy by enforcing relevant laws requiring companies to 

maintain reasonable safeguards to protect sensitive consumer information. The FTC also will continue to enforce the 

Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, the Gramm-LeachBliley Act, and the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions 

Act. Other enforcement efforts in privacy will center on cases 

involving claims touting the privacy and security features of 

products and services.

The FTC will continue to enforce the Telemarketing Sales 

Rule vigorously, including the Do Not Call provisions that 

prohibit most telemarketing to consumers who place their 

telephone numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry.

Do Not Call and 

Telemarketing
Performance Plan 56 Fiscal Year 2010

New Media

The FTC will also continue to enforce the Do Not Call provisions prohibiting “abandoned calls,” which fail to connect 

consumers to a live operator within two seconds.

Spam, Spyware, and Other High-Tech Problems

The FTC will continue to bring cases against those who 

abuse technology. As part of this work, the FTC will continue to enforce laws prohibiting unfair and deceptive spam 

email. The FTC will also work to stop spyware and other 

high-tech problems that plague consumers. The FTC will 

invest in high-tech tools to analyze new problems, collect 

and review evidence, and protect consumers from becoming 

victimized by viruses or other security and infrastructure 

threats.

As new technologies open new avenues for companies to 

communicate and transact business with consumers, the 

FTC will continue to take a leading role in addressing the 

privacy, security, and other risks of consumer harm associated with these technologies. In addition to continuing our 

important work on spam and spyware, some of the areas for 

law enforcement activity will include the following:

•	 Behavioral Advertising: Following a workshop on 

behavioral advertising, the Commission staff released 

and sought public comment on a set of proposed 

principles to guide the development of self-regulation in this area. The FTC anticipates that behavioral 

advertising will require a continuing Commission 

presence, including law enforcement as appropriate, 

and monitoring of self-regulation.

•	 Contactless Payment: The Commission hosted a 

town-hall meeting on contactless payment, a technology through which consumers can make purchases 

by holding a device such as a smart card, cell phone, 

or key fob in proximity to a reader. The meeting 

explored the extent to which contactless devices and 

readers are being deployed in the U.S. and around the 

world, and the potential benefits and risks to consumers of their use. The FTC anticipates that it may need 

to take enforcement action.

Spam, Spyware, 

and Other HighTech Problems
Performance Plan 57 Fiscal Year 2010

Hispanic 

Enforcement 

Initiative

Health Care Products 

and Services

•	 Mobile Marketing: The Commission held a Mobile 

Marketing Town Hall to explore the innovative and 

efficient consumer services offered by the relatively 

new mobile marketing medium. While marketing 

through mobile devices offers enormous benefits 

to commerce, it may raise privacy, security, fraud, 

and deception issues. The FTC will monitor mobile 

marketing, provide guidance where needed and, if 

warranted, take enforcement action.

•	 Social Networking: With the growth of social 

networking sites and other new media directed to 

advertising products to children and teens, the FTC 

will commence its regulatory review of the Children’s 

Online Privacy Protection Act to keep pace with 

rapidly changing technologies. 

The deceptive marketing of products that may affect consumer health and safety will continue to be an FTC priority. The FTC will focus on health care products, including 

dietary supplements. Consumer demand for such products 

is increasing, and fraudulent or deceptive claims about these 

products can pose risks to consumers’ well-being.

After the FTC completes its series of Green workshops and 

evaluates whether and how to modify the Green Guides, 

the Commission anticipates an increased law enforcement 

presence in this area.

The FTC will continue its vigorous pursuit of scammers 

targeting the Hispanic community, by taking law enforcement action and working with its partners to fight fraud in 

this community.

As U.S. consumers age, fraudsters are likely to target their 

scams to the perceived vulnerabilities of the elderly. The 

FTC plans to develop a coordinated law enforcement 

response to challenge fraud targeting older Americans and 

increase collaboration with state and federal partners.

The FTC will continue to promote the work of its Criminal 

Liaison Unit (CLU), dedicated to encourage criminal prosecution of consumer fraud by coordinating with criminal 

law enforcement authorities on consumer fraud cases. CLU 

identifies law enforcement agencies and case agents for 

Environmental 

Advertising

Marketing Practices 

Targeting Older 

Americans

Order Enforcement 
Performance Plan 58 Fiscal Year 2010

referral of specific types of consumer fraud cases, educates 

criminal law enforcement authorities about the FTC and its 

mission, and coordinates training of FTC staff by criminal 

law enforcement to help staff prepare cases for referral and 

ensure smooth progress of parallel prosecutions.

The FTC will also continue to focus on individuals and 

companies that already are subject to FTC and federal court 

orders as a result of prior FTC law enforcement actions, and 

will place a high priority on enforcing orders against repeat 

offenders as well as against those who act in concert with 

them.

•	 Stop injury to consumers by applying fundamental 

consumer protection principles to new practices, such 

as those arising from emerging payment systems and 

the convergence of information technologies.

•	 Halt advertising and marketing practices that are 

most injurious to consumers or that prey on specific 

groups of vulnerable consumers.

•	 Challenge practices that threaten consumer privacy.

•	 Enforce consumer credit statutes and rules to protect 

consumers from deceptive lending practices and 

other illegal credit practices.

•	 Update, rescind, or promulgate trade regulation rules 

and other agency rules in response to regulatory 

reviews and Congressional mandates.

•	 Create and implement a comprehensive orderenforcement program that targets those individuals and corporations that violate federal court and 

administrative orders obtained by the FTC.

•	 Promote the criminal prosecution of the most egregious fraud violators through coordination and cooperation with criminal law enforcement authorities.

Strategies
Performance Plan 59 Fiscal Year 2010

•	 Target law enforcement toward violations that create the greatest risks to consumer health, safety, and 

economic well-being by reviewing complaints, evaluating practices in the marketplace, and monitoring 

industry data and other information.

•	 Enforce protections for consumers from fraud, deception, and other abuse perpetrated through different 

media such as direct mail, telemarketing, Web sites, 

and new technologies.

•	 Develop a more sustained and coordinated law 

enforcement response to abusive and deceptive marketing practices targeting older Americans.

•	 Monitor national advertising in print, television, 

radio, and online to identify illegal practices that may 

not be captured fully by the complaint database.

•	 Evaluate the ever-expanding advertising of environment claims.

•	 Identify industries whose consumer data is at high 

risk and use law enforcement to promote better 

data security practices through enforcement of the 

Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, the Fair Credit Reporting 

Act, and Section 5 of the FTC Act.

•	 Administer and enforce the National Do Not Call 

Registry.

•	 Enhance government efforts to deter, prevent, defend, 

investigate, and prosecute identity theft by continuing 

to implement the recommendations of the President’s 

Identity Theft Task Force and through the FTC’s own 

activities.

•	 Improve the order-enforcement database to monitor 

compliance with federal court and administrative 

orders and bring actions against those individuals 

and companies that violate those orders.

FY 2010 Implementation Plan
Performance Plan 60 Fiscal Year 2010

Evaluations

•	 Train FTC staff to improve investigative and litigation 

skills through formal activities that teach best practices used in government and private industry.

•	 Increase the FTC’s capacity to respond rapidly to 

fast-moving technology-based scams by enhancing 

the Internet Lab and increasing tech-savvy litigation 

support.

•	 Leverage FTC enforcement resources by recruiting, 

supporting, and coordinating local, state, federal, and 

international law enforcement partners for initiatives 

and sweeps.

•	 Work with criminal prosecutors and investigators to 

promote criminal prosecution of FTC fraud defendants and those who assist their deceptive practices.

•	 Save consumers approximately $400 million through 

law enforcement.

The FTC calculates consumer savings by totaling the estimated annual sales of defendants in the 12 months prior to 

the FTC’s contacting the defendants or filing a complaint. 

The calculation actually underestimates the agency’s impact 

because it assumes that the challenged business practices 

would have continued for only one more year and it ignores 

the deterrent effect of FTC enforcement.

•	 Track number of enforcement actions brought and 

amount of economic injury to consumers stopped and 

determine where resources need to be shifted.

•	 Evaluate whether enforcement activities are tracking 

the areas of greatest concern and injury to consumers 

FY 2010 Performance Measure
Performance Plan 61 Fiscal Year 2010

Objective 1.3: Prevent consumer injury through education

Strategies

and whether there are new practices or technologies 

that require additional consumer protection law 

enforcement.

Consumer and business education serves as the first line of 

defense against fraud, deception, and unfair practices. Most 

FTC law enforcement initiatives include a consumer and/or 

business education component aimed at preventing consumer injury and unlawful business practices, and mitigating financial losses. From time to time, the agency conducts 

pre-emptive consumer and business education campaigns 

to raise awareness of new or emerging marketplace issues 

that have the potential to cause harm. The agency creatively 

uses new technologies and private and public partnerships 

to reach new and under-served audiences, particularly those 

who may not seek information directly from the FTC. The 

FTC will continue to publicize its consumer complaint and 

identity theft Web site addresses and toll-free numbers in 

an ongoing effort to increase public awareness of its activities and inform the public of the ways to contact the FTC to 

obtain information or file a complaint. 

•	 Focus consumer and business education efforts on 

areas where fraud, deception, unfair practices, and 

information gaps cause the greatest injury.

•	 Leverage resources (by working with federal, state, 

local, international, and private sector partners) to 

maximize the reach of consumer and business education campaigns.

•	 Target particular demographic groups with messages 

about marketplace issues that impact their health, 

safety, and economic well-being.
Performance Plan 62 Fiscal Year 2010

•	 Deliver efficiently and effectively educational information in English and Spanish to consumers, industry 

members, and law enforcement partners on how to 

prevent consumer injury, avoid unlawful business 

practices, and enhance consumer welfare.

•	 Continue the Hispanic Outreach and Enforcement 

Initiative, and research how best to reach out to 

African American consumers, including what information to provide, and which organizations would be 

most advantageous with which to partner.

•	 Focus efforts on high-profile or emerging areas, 

including financial services, new media, and “green 

marketing,” to close information gaps.

•	 Find new and creative ways to reach consumers with 

information about marketplace issues that can cause 

them financial injury and to reach businesses with 

information that increases knowledge about consumer risks and compliance.

•	 Monitor, review, and provide guidance to parents 

and children on marketing that may affect children 

and teenagers.

•	 Build partnerships with industry and advocacy 

organizations to lead more visitors to the FTC’s Web 

site (www.ftc.gov) and to other issue-oriented Web 

sites developed by the FTC such as, www.DoNotCall.

gov, www.OnGuardOnLine.gov, and www.

DontServeTeens.gov.

•	 Continue to build relationships with international 

organizations to educate consumers and businesses 

about cross-border consumer protection issues.

•	 Increase media coverage to broadcast the agency’s 

education message to a broader audience.

•	 Continue education programs to meet the demand for 

information about significant events in the marketFY 2010 Implementation Plan
Performance Plan 63 Fiscal Year 2010

FY 2010 Performance Measures

place, including data security, and other initiatives, 

including the Business Opportunity Rule, Energy 

Guide, etc.

•	 Continue to integrate e-government initiatives into 

activities.

•	 Track FTC’s consumer protection messages to determine whether they are accessed online or in print a 

total of more than 55 million times.

•	 Determine whether within the total of FTC’s consumer protection messages accessed online or in 

print, the messages relating to identity theft are 

accessed more than 10 million times.

•	 Determine whether within the total of FTC’s consumer protection messages accessed online or in 

print, the messages in Spanish are accessed more than 

3.8 million times.

•	 Determine whether external print media, such as 

newspapers, magazines, business and trade journals, 

and professional journals, publish more than 3,000 

articles that refer to FTC consumer protection activities and whether the circulation of the media that 

publish those articles is more than 750 million.

Consumer and business education are crucial tools in preventing and reducing consumer harm efficiently and effectively. These performance measures will help ensure that 

the agency is engaging in a sufficient amount of educational 

activity and that the educational materials are aimed at new 

trends and at particularly vulnerable populations. They also 

will ensure that the FTC is publicizing its education materials in the best way possible.
Performance Plan 64 Fiscal Year 2010

Objective 1.4: Enhance consumer welfare through research, 

reports, advocacy, and international cooperation and exchange

•	 Assess whether the appropriate mix of media is being 

used to communicate consumer education messages 

and whether the FTC is making the most efficient use 

of available media and technology.

•	 Assess the number and range of public and private 

sector organizations that partner with the FTC on 

outreach.

•	 Determine whether the FTC needs to reach new 

audiences, in light of any changes in demographics, 

advertising, and marketing practices, and what strategies or partnerships may allow the FTC to reach those 

audiences.

•	 Review the focus of FTC education efforts and adjust 

them based on changing consumer and business 

needs.

•	 Continue to assess the consumer information needs of 

the Spanish-speaking population.

The FTC uses a variety of strategies in addition to law 

enforcement and education to enhance consumer welfare.

The agency convenes conferences and workshops through 

which experts and other experienced and knowledgeable 

parties identify novel or challenging consumer protection 

issues and discuss ways to address those issues. The FTC 

also issues reports requested or mandated by Congress or 

the President, or that the agency has prepared on its own 

initiative, that analyze consumer protection problems and 

suggest public and private sector policies to address them, 

such as self-regulatory efforts. Further, the FTC files comments with federal and state government bodies advocating 

policies that promote the interests of consumers and highlight the role of consumer and empirical research in their 

decision making. The agency testifies before Congress on 

Evaluations
Performance Plan 65 Fiscal Year 2010

Strategies

consumer protection issues. The FTC engages in a variety of 

international cooperation, exchange, and advocacy activities designed to promote market-based consumer protection policies and effective cross-border coordination. The 

FTC also files amicus briefs to aid courts’ considerations of 

important consumer protection issues.

•	 Focus workshops and conferences on emerging or 

challenging consumer protection problems, especially 

those related to new technologies.

•	 Issue reports mandated by law and other reports 

that articulate concrete measures that the public and 

private sectors could take to address consumer protection problems, particularly those related to new or 

emerging technologies.

•	 Target advocacy activities to encourage state, federal, 

and foreign government policymakers to evaluate 

both the costs and benefits of their policies for consumers, emphasizing the impact on consumers of 

policies that unnecessarily affect the dissemination of 

truthful, non-misleading information to consumers 

and the interplay of competition and consumer protection concerns.

•	 Use letters and public comments to urge state, federal, 

and foreign government policymakers to consider 

consumer research and other empirical data in their 

decisions regarding the costs and benefits of their 

policies for consumers.

•	 Pursue the development of an international marketbased consumer protection model, which focuses on 

protecting consumers from significant harm while 

maximizing economic benefit, consumer access to 

information, and consumer choice.

•	 Encourage industry self-regulation where consumer 

protection problems are emerging, industry has a 
Performance Plan 66 Fiscal Year 2010

comparative advantage in addressing the problems, 

and/or legal or practical limitations constrain the 

government’s ability to act.

•	 Convene workshops and conferences and issue 

reports (including those required by law).

•	 Examine new technologies, to enable the FTC to take 

a lead role in addressing the privacy, security, and 

other risks of consumer harm associated with the 

technologies.

•	 Analyze federal and state government policies and 

identify those that impose costs on consumers that 

may exceed their benefits to consumers, especially 

policies that affect the dissemination of truthful, nonmisleading information to consumers.

•	 File comments or otherwise engage in advocacy with 

state, federal, and foreign government policymakers 

that evaluate both the costs and benefits of proposed 

policies on consumers, with a particular emphasis 

on the role of consumer research and other empirical data in their decisions, and an awareness of the 

intersection of competition and consumer protection 

concerns.

•	 File amicus curiae briefs in state and federal courts 

urging adoption of legal principles that promote 

consumer welfare.

•	 Present major policy speeches that discuss emerging 

or challenging consumer protection problems and 

explain the FTC’s approach to them.

•	 Identify through monitoring or other means consumer protection problems that industry self-regulation could effectively combat and work with industry 

to adopt such self-regulatory measures.

FY 2010 Implementation Plan
Performance Plan 67 Fiscal Year 2010

FY 2010 Performance Measures

•	 Further the FTC’s Congressionally-endorsed efforts to 

promote industry self-regulation in the marketing of 

entertainment, food, and alcohol.

•	 In rulemakings, evaluate the regulatory effect on 

industry, consumers, and other parties, invite public 

comment, coordinate with other agencies, and promulgate rules accordingly.

•	 Publicize advocacy comments to increase public 

awareness of consumer protection problems and 

solutions.

•	 Convene or participate substantially in approximately six workshops and conferences and issue 

approximately eight reports on topics such as novel 

or challenging consumer protection problems, including issues related to the scope and effectiveness of 

self-regulation.

•	 File approximately six public and advocacy comments with other federal and state government 

bodies helping them to assess the costs and benefits 

to consumers of their policies and the implication of 

consumer research and other empirical data for their 

policy decisions, where appropriate.

•	 Cooperate with foreign government agencies on 

at least 20 enforcement matters with cross-border 

components.

•	 Provide policy or technical input to foreign government agencies or international organizations in at 

least 20 instances involving consumer protection.

Public policy that enhances consumer welfare is based on 

a thorough understanding of complex issues, which arises 

from dialogue, study, and empirical research. Such policy 

also appreciates that stakeholders other than government, 

such as industry associations or private standard-setting 
Performance Plan 68 Fiscal Year 2010

organizations, may be better placed to address certain 

consumer protection issues. These performance measures 

will help ensure that the agency augments its enforcement 

and education efforts by encouraging discussions among all 

interested parties, as well as careful study of and empirical 

research on novel or challenging consumer protection problems. These activities will help enhance consumer welfare 

by promoting sound consumer protection policies, as well 

as the decision of other state, federal, and international 

policymakers.

•	 Determine whether reports issued by the FTC following workshops or conferences are issued timely 

(approximately within nine months for reports that 

simply summarize the proceedings), and contribute to 

progress on the issue of the workshop or conference.

•	 Evaluate whether the FTC is filing comments or otherwise engaging in advocacy with state, federal, and 

foreign government bodies on consumer protection 

policies that will have a significant impact on consumers and whether the recipients of these comments 

give weight to the views expressed in these comments 

in making policy decisions that affect consumers.

•	 Assess whether industry gives weight to the FTC’s 

evaluation, monitoring, and advocacy, and whether 

market interests are affected.

•	 Determine the scope and frequency of citation of and 

reference to FTC reports, studies, conference materials, and major policy speeches by other policymakers, 

academics, the courts, and the media.

Evaluations
Performance Plan 69 Fiscal Year 2010

Maintaining Competition

Fiscal Year 2010

Goal 2: To prevent

anticompetitive

mergers and other

anticompetitive

business practices

in the marketplace

Objective 2.1: Identify anticompetitive mergers and 

practices that cause the greatest consumer injury

The Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Premerger Notification Act 

provides the FTC an effective starting point for identifying 

anticompetitive mergers before they are consummated.

The FTC administers the HSR program both for itself and 

for the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Antitrust Division, 

which shares authority to challenge anticompetitive mergers. Mergers reported to the FTC vary tremendously in their 

complexity and potential anticompetitive effect. In most 

cases, the agency can make a reasonable judgment within a 

few days of filing about whether a merger has the potential 

to be anticompetitive, competitively neutral, or procompetitive, simply by reviewing materials filed with the notification or after a brief inquiry within an initial 30-day waiting 

period. In a relatively small percentage of cases, an investigation can take months and require a major commitment 

of resources. Taken overall, the HSR program generates a 

portion of the cases indentified for review and that may lead 

to an enforcement action.

In addition to HSR notifications, the FTC also uses trade 

press articles, consumer and competitor complaints, and 

other means to identify potentially anticompetitive mergers 

that were not required to be reported under HSR, or that 

were not reported in violation of HSR. Moreover, the agency 

continues to monitor consummated mergers to ensure that 

transactions do not generate unexpected anticompetitive 

consequences.

There is no comparable statutorily mandated program to 

help identify anticompetitive business practices. The FTC 

must instead employ a variety of methods to identify potentially anticompetitive practices (for example, consumer and 

competitor complaints, referrals from other government 

agencies, and monitoring the trade press).
Performance Plan 70 Fiscal Year 2010

Strategies

•	 Continue to make efficient use of the initial 30-day 

period after HSR filings (or 15 days for a cash tender 

offer or certain bankruptcy transactions) to determine 

whether a more detailed investigation is needed to 

assess whether a merger is likely to harm competition, 

and to avoid unnecessary extended investigations, 

including prompt inter-agency clearance and timely 

review.

•	 Use trade press articles, consumer and competitor 

complaints, and other means to identify potentially 

anticompetitive mergers that were not required to 

be reported under HSR, or that were not reported 

in violation of HSR, and potentially anticompetitive 

nonmerger business practices.

•	 When appropriate, issue requests for additional information under HSR to determine whether a merger is 

likely to be anticompetitive.

•	 When appropriate, use compulsory process in merger 

and nonmerger investigations to obtain additional 

information needed to make an informed judgment 

about the anticompetitive potential of mergers and 

nonmerger practices.

•	 Apply merger process reforms to conduct investigations more efficiently, in order to enhance enforcement outcomes while minimizing burdens on 

business.

•	 Employ integrated teams of lawyers, economists, 

and other professionals to conduct an economically 

sound, fact-based analysis of mergers and other 

potentially anticompetitive business practices. Retain 

outside experts and consultants in relevant fields 

of expertise, as needed, when specialized supplementary resources would enhance enforcement 

outcomes. Promote increased utilization of paralegals 

in identifying potentially anticompetitive mergers 
Performance Plan 71 Fiscal Year 2010

and conduct, especially with regards to document 

intensive searches that have become more dependent 

on advanced technological applications.

•	 Work with state or local officials, other federal agencies, or international agencies to maximize resources 

in identifying anticompetitive mergers and business 

practices, and to minimize, to the extent possible, 

burdens on enforcers and business and duplication of 

effort, and to avoid conflicting remedies. 

•	 Track and maintain the timeliness of investigations 

and merger review under the HSR program.

•	 Refine the investigative and decisional tools used in 

both merger and nonmerger investigations through 

continuous learning.

•	 Identify emerging trends and focus on potentially 

anticompetitive business practices or other issues that 

need to be addressed because of changes in the economy, technology, and the marketplace, drawing upon 

the results of hearings, task forces, agency studies and 

reports, and other means.

•	 Continue to monitor past volume, format, and duration of productions and evaluate current document 

review practices (internal and outside feedback), and 

available hardware and software tools as appropriate.

•	 Identify and adopt appropriate technological 

solutions to deal with increasingly sophisticated 

document production and modernize the Premerger 

Notification and Clearance systems while continuing to integrate e-government initiatives, such as 

electronic premerger filing, into the Commission’s 

activities.
Performance Plan 72 Fiscal Year 2010

•	 Continue to improve the investigative skills and 

antitrust analysis training programs and provide 

adequate training in the professional skills needed 

to deal with the increasingly technologically based 

document submissions.

•	 Identify “best practices” used by government and 

private antitrust attorneys and use this knowledge in 

training FTC staff.

•	 Continue effective screening of mergers under the 

HSR program so that all reported mergers that raise 

potentially significant competitive issues undergo an 

appropriate investigation. 

•	 Continue to monitor the merger review process 

to determine if additional changes are needed 

to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of 

investigations.

•	 Continue to use and improve existing techniques for 

identifying anticompetitive business practices, such as 

monitoring the trade press, responding to and following up on case leads by Congressional offices, other 

Executive Branch agencies, and state and local governments, and informing potentially aggrieved parties that they can lodge complaints with the agency 

by “getting FTC’s message out” through speeches and 

electronic and other publications for consumer, bar, 

and business groups (including those representing 

specific industries), and general public outreach. 

•	 Continue effective administration of the review of 

nonmerger practices so that the FTC may investigate 

those that raise potentially significant competitive 

issues.

•	 Apply to FTC practices the results of hearings, conferences, reports, studies, and workshops on significant 

competition issues.

FY 2010 Implementation Plan
Performance Plan 73 Fiscal Year 2010

FY 2010 Performance Measures

•	 Continue discussions among attorneys in the FTC’s 

regional offices and in the nonmerger divisions on 

ways to improve techniques for monitoring business practices and for identifying anticompetitive 

practices.

•	 Collect data, for management review, regarding the 

FTC’s efficiency in conducting investigations, such 

as the amount of time required to complete the HSR 

review process, the number of HSR matters requiring 

issuance of an investigative second request, the number of HSR and significant nonmerger investigations 

that result in enforcement action, the number of hours 

of staff time spent on investigations, and other costs 

associated with investigations.

•	 Review significant deviations from the statistical benchmarks for timely and efficient review of 

merger transactions and take corrective action where 

necessary.

•	 Continue effective administration of merger review 

under the HSR program so that at least 90 percent of 

HSR requests for additional information result in a 

positive outcome, which includes Commission authorization of a complaint for preliminary injunction in 

federal court, issuance of an administrative complaint, 

acceptance of a consent agreement, the parties’ voluntary abandonment or restructuring of a proposed 

transaction based on FTC antitrust concerns, and 

closing of an investigation without subsequent events 

indicating that the transaction injured competition.

•	 Continue effective administration of the nonmerger 

activity so that at least 90 percent of significant nonmerger investigations (those with at least 150 hours of 

investigative effort) will result in a positive outcome, 

which includes Commission authorization to file a 

complaint in federal court, issuance of an administrative complaint, acceptance of a consent agreement, 
Performance Plan 74 Fiscal Year 2010

resolution of antitrust concerns without enforcement 

action, or closing of an investigation without subsequent events indicating that the business practice 

injured competition.

Success on these measures will indicate that the FTC is 

effectively screening HSR-reported mergers and nonmerger 

investigations to identify those that raise significant antitrust issues and warrant further investigation and possible 

enforcement action. Setting high goals for positive outcomes 

from these investigations demonstrates the FTC’s commitment to targeting its enforcement resources effectively.

Failure to meet these measures would result in an evaluation 

of the FTC’s screening process used to identify potential 

competition problems and target investigatory resources.

Three additional measures under this objective require the 

Commission to report detailed supplemental information 

on its merger and nonmerger activities. These measures 

are directly related to the two key performance measures 

described above and are intended to facilitate the evaluation 

of performance results.

•	 Track the number of enforcement actions undertaken in Maintaining Competition and, separately, 

in the merger and nonmerger activities, including 

Commission authorization of a complaint for preliminary injunction or permanent relief in federal 

court, issuance of an administrative complaint, and 

acceptance of a consent agreement, and, for mergers, 

the parties’ voluntary abandonment or restructuring 

of a proposed transaction based on FTC antitrust 

concerns.

•	 In conjunction with the prior merger review performance measure, report the number of second 

requests issued, the number of reportable transactions 

for which premerger notifications were received, 

the number of HSR investigations that resulted in 

enforcement action, the number of transactions in 

FY 2010 Informative Measures 
Performance Plan 75 Fiscal Year 2010

Evaluations

which antitrust issues were resolved through voluntary abandonment or restructuring because of FTC 

concerns, and the number of investigations closed 

because the evidence indicated that a competitive 

problem was unlikely.

•	 In conjunction with the prior nonmerger measure, 

report the number of significant nonmerger investigations closed each year, with or without enforcement 

action. 

•	 Assess markets where investigations were closed 

without enforcement action, explore whether 

outcomes remain positive over time, and use this 

information to enhance the agency’s ability to 

predict likely competitive consequences in future 

investigations.

•	 If there was a failure to investigate a merger or 

business practice, known to the agency, which had 

a significant potential for causing competitive and 

consumer harm, assess whether there were factors 

that indicated the presence of a competitive problem 

that the agency should have reasonably been able to 

identify.

•	 Assess the burden imposed on merger parties by the 

HSR merger investigation process, explore ways of 

reducing that burden without compromising effectiveness of investigations, and explore methods of 

measuring HSR compliance burden.

•	 Assess the FTC’s efficiency in conducting antitrust 

investigations, explore ways to increase efficient 

use of investigatory resources and reduce burdens 

on business, and explore whether we can more 

meaningfully measure our efficiency in conducting 

investigations.
Performance Plan 76 Fiscal Year 2010

This enforcement objective includes both obtaining orders to 

stop anticompetitive activity (either through litigation or by 

consent) and ensuring that the remedies imposed by those 

orders are effective. Conduct that reduces competition is 

likely to cause consumers to pay higher prices or enjoy lower 

quality than they otherwise would. Antitrust enforcement 

provides substantial benefits to consumers by preventing 

anticompetitive mergers and other coordinated or unilateral 

conduct that is likely to lessen competition.

•	 Continue to benefit consumers in markets significant 

to them by challenging anticompetitive mergers and 

other nonmerger anticompetitive conduct, negotiating 

consent orders, and winning litigated orders, resulting in millions of dollars in consumer savings.

•	 Negotiate merger and nonmerger consent orders and 

win litigated orders that have significant remedial, 

precedential, and deterrent effects.

•	 Improve negotiation and litigation skills through 

continuous learning.

•	 Apply the merger process reforms to conduct 

investigations more efficiently, in order to enhance 

enforcement outcomes while minimizing burdens on 

business.

•	 Improve the FTC’s capacity to promote consumer 

welfare by applying the information gained through 

workshops, hearings, and research projects that 

improve its understanding of significant antitrust 

issues.

Objective 2.2: Stop anticompetitive mergers and 

practices through law enforcement

Strategies
Performance Plan 77 Fiscal Year 2010

FY 2010 Implementation Plan

•	 Retain outside experts and consultants in relevant 

fields of expertise, as needed, when specialized 

supplementary resources would enhance enforcement 

outcomes.

•	 Increase the use of paralegal resources in challenging 

potentially anticompetitive mergers and conduct, 

especially with regards to document intensive 

searches that have become more dependant on 

advanced technological applications. Implement a rigorous paralegal training program to ensure that support staff possesses the necessary tools to deal with 

technologically sophisticated document submissions.

•	 Continue to integrate e-government initiatives into 

activities.

•	 Ensure that administrative litigation and adjudication 

reach a timely resolution. Identify and implement 

practices that promote a more effective utilization of 

Part 3 adjudicative proceedings in challenging potentially anticompetitive mergers and conduct matters.

•	 Improve the integration of budget and performance 

by linking goals and objectives to results; develop 

improved processes for use and analysis of management data.

•	 Challenge anticompetitive mergers and business 

practices in federal court or through the increased 

recourse to administrative litigation, and obtain relief 

with significant remedial, precedential, and deterrent 

effects.

•	 Resolve anticompetitive mergers and practices, where 

possible, by negotiating consent orders that secure 

relief with significant remedial, precedential, and 

deterrent effects without the need for litigation.
Performance Plan 78 Fiscal Year 2010

•	 Retain outside experts and consultants in relevant 

fields of expertise, as needed, when specialized 

supplementary resources would enhance enforcement 

outcomes.

•	 Continue to improve negotiation and litigation skills 

through training programs. Ensure that lead attorneys 

and managers collect any important lessons learned at 

the close of each significant negotiation and litigation 

and transmit them to appropriate personnel for incorporation in training programs and model pleadings.

•	 Continue to monitor implementation of divestitures 

and other requirements of the FTC’s merger consent 

orders. Seek civil penalties where appropriate if a 

respondent fails to fulfill its obligations under an 

order in a timely fashion.

•	 Continue to seek improvements in both the substantive aspects of remedies, as well as the process by 

which they are derived.

•	 Achieve a positive result (including consent orders, 

litigation victories, or, for mergers, transactions 

abandoned after recommendation of a complaint) 

in at least 80 percent of cases in which the FTC takes 

enforcement action.

•	 Take action against mergers likely to harm competition in markets with a total of at least $25 billion in 

sales.

•	 Save consumers an estimated $500 million through 

enforcement actions against mergers likely to harm 

competition.

•	 Achieve a level of consumer savings from merger 

enforcement that is at least six times the amount of 

agency resources (in dollars of total resources) allocated to the merger activity during that period.

FY 2010 Performance Measures
Performance Plan 79 Fiscal Year 2010

•	 Take action against nonmerger anticompetitive conduct in markets with a total of at least $8 billion in 

annual sales.

•	 Save consumers an estimated $80 million through 

enforcement actions against nonmerger anticompetitive conduct likely to harm competition.

•	 Achieve a level of consumer savings from nonmerger 

enforcement that is at least four times the amount of 

agency resources (in dollars of total resources) allocated to the nonmerger activity during that period.

Because external factors may cause the results to fluctuate 

significantly from year to year, the latter six goals are to be 

evaluated in terms of an aggregate target for the five-year 

strategic plan period, rather than as a yearly target.

These measures evaluate agency performance in several 

ways: the percentage of enforcement actions that have successful outcomes, the volume of commerce affected (benefited) by merger and nonmerger enforcement action, the 

estimated dollar savings to consumers resulting from merger 

and nonmerger enforcement action, and the estimated dollar 

savings to consumers per dollar of enforcement resources. In 

the absence of case-specific information, the dollar savings 

to consumers is conservatively estimated as one percent of 

the volume of commerce in the affected markets (for two 

years in merger cases and for one year in nonmerger cases).

This is not intended as a precise estimate of consumer savings, but, rather, as an indication of general magnitude, 

even though a more precise estimate based on case-specific 

information will be used whenever possible. The use of a 

volume of sales performance measure does not mean that 

the FTC will only investigate and take enforcement action in 

markets with large sales volumes. The FTC will continue to 

investigate and take enforcement action as necessary in all 

markets where considerable consumer harm is likely. The 

benchmarks for the estimated dollar savings to consumers 

per dollar of enforcement resources for merger and nonmerger actions are based on historical experience, reflecting 

the different mix of cases and the different investigative and 

enforcement processes.
Performance Plan 80 Fiscal Year 2010

These measures will help guide the agency in challenging 

conduct that causes substantial consumer injury through 

targeting of its resources effectively and efficiently. These 

measures provide a gauge of the appropriateness of case 

selection and resolution, whether through litigation or settlement, as well as of the crafting of sufficient and effective 

remedies.

•	 Assess the scope of the FTC’s annual merger enforcement activities, as reflected by the volume of commerce in markets in which the agency took merger 

enforcement action. Determine whether the total 

volume of commerce in such markets is likely to 

reach $40 billion and determine whether the level 

of consumer savings is likely to reach $800 million.

Compare the likely consumer welfare impact in these 

markets to the resources spent on this goal.

•	 Assess the scope of the FTC’s annual nonmerger 

enforcement activities, as reflected by the volume of 

commerce in markets in which the agency took nonmerger enforcement action. Determine whether the 

total volume of commerce in such markets is likely 

to reach $20 billion and determine whether the level 

of consumer savings is likely to reach $200 million.

Compare the likely consumer welfare impact in these 

markets to the resources spent on this goal.

•	 Assess qualitatively the deterrence value and precedential significance of the enforcement actions 

brought during FY 2009.

•	 Where warranted, conduct periodic retrospective 

studies of past investigative and enforcement activity to determine the extent to which the FTC’s case 

selection process is accurately identifying matters that 

require FTC intervention.

•	 Evaluate litigation performance for lessons that may 

be applicable to future litigation.

Evaluations
Performance Plan 81 Fiscal Year 2010

Objective 2.3: Prevent consumer injury through education

Strategies

•	 Review the results of major competition research 

initiatives to identify their usefulness in guiding 

FTC decisions and influencing other policymakers’ 

approaches to competition issues.

•	 Closely monitor the characteristics of individual 

merger and nonmerger matters that comprise the 

basis for estimating volume of commerce and consumer savings. Determine whether the anomalous 

nature of the relevant product market involved 

suggests excluding a specific matter or adjusting the 

targets.

The FTC increases awareness of antitrust law through guidance to the business community; outreach efforts to federal, 

state and local agencies, business groups, and consumers; 

development and publication of antitrust guidelines and 

policy statements; and speeches and publications. In carrying out these functions, the FTC strives to ensure that any 

publicly disseminated data or information subject to the 

Data Quality Act (section 515 of Public Law No. 106-554) 

exceeds basic quality standards.

•	 Educate consumers and businesses about antitrust 

issues through traditional means such as guidelines, 

advisory opinions, reports, articles in professional 

or other publications, speeches, and participation in 

professional organizations.

•	 Promote consumer focused policy studies in the 

health care and energy areas that consider the interrelation between competition and consumer protection.
Performance Plan 82 Fiscal Year 2010

•	 Conduct periodic conferences on relevant competition related topics and develop outreach programs 

targeted to antitrust practitioners and competition 

authorities, both domestic and international.

•	 Educate businesses through detailed information regarding agency actions on the FTC website, 

and in press releases, reports, articles, and other 

publications.

•	 Develop new print and online resources, with specific 

audiences in mind, to help consumers and business 

people better understand the work conducted by the 

Commission. Target schools, businesses, other federal 

agencies, the states' attorneys general, and other 

groups with large established constituencies.

•	 Continue to conduct and disseminate the results of 

public hearings, conferences, and workshops on practices and developments in the marketplace and the 

results of economic research on how markets operate.

•	 Continue to enhance avenues of communication with 

consumers and business, such as email and the FTC 

website.

•	 Ensure that the content of complaints, press releases, 

and analyses to aid public comment are “transparent,” that is, that they explain in sufficient detail 

and with sufficient clarity the evidence and theory 

of a case, within the constraints of confidentiality 

requirements.

•	 Expand the use of other public statements to explain 

why the Commission elected not to take enforcement 

action in certain matters to further improve the public’s understanding of the FTC’s enforcement policies.

•	 Engage in outreach to lay groups such as schools to 

provide information about the work of the FTC and 

basic principles of economics and competition.
Performance Plan 83 Fiscal Year 2010

•	 Engage in outreach to foreign competition agencies to 

facilitate the agency’s efforts to promote convergence 

toward sound consumer-welfare-based competition 

enforcement and policy.

•	 Issue guidance to help businesses understand and 

comply with the application of the antitrust laws in 

certain areas, such as horizontal mergers, international operations, intellectual property, and health 

care.

•	 Continue to provide Commission and staff advisory 

opinions on various competition issues; continue to 

provide guidance in response to informal requests, 

particularly concerning HSR matters.

•	 Monitor the content of complaints, press releases, and 

analyses to aid public comment to ensure they are 

“transparent,” that is, that they explain in sufficient 

detail and with sufficient clarity the evidence and 

theory of a case, within the constraints of confidentiality requirements.

•	 Expand the use of press releases and other public 

statements to explain why the Commission elected 

not to take enforcement action in certain matters to 

further improve the public’s understanding of the 

FTC’s enforcement policies.

•	 Make available prepared texts of speeches and 

develop other materials that explain FTC policies and 

procedures.

•	 Continue to have Commissioners and staff speak at 

and participate in seminars, panel discussions, and 

conferences to explain how the FTC analyzes mergers 

and other business practices.

FY 2010 Implementation Plan
Performance Plan 84 Fiscal Year 2010

•	 Make available to the public the materials relating to 

public hearings, conferences, and workshops on practices and developments in the marketplace, including 

transcripts, written submissions, and reports.

•	 Make available on the FTC’s website the guidance 

issued by the FTC, advisory opinions, advocacy comments, written releases, texts of speeches, Bureau of 

Economics reports, and other materials that explain 

the FTC’s policies and procedures.

•	 When opportunities arise, engage in outreach to 

lay groups to provide information about the work 

of the FTC and basic principles of economics and 

competition.

•	 Engage in outreach to foreign competition authorities 

and international competition organizations.

•	 Develop and implement increasingly sophisticated 

web metric and analytical tools that will allow for a 

more accurate and representative view of the volume 

of traffic on the Commission’s antitrust related web 

pages. Monitor the results generated by the new 

web metric applications and, where necessary, make 

adjustments to the corresponding target.

•	 Track volume of traffic on the FTC website on antitrust-related pages that are relevant to policymakers, 

the business and legal communities, and the public at 

large to determine if the site receives at least 15 million visits.

•	 Determine if external print media, such as newspapers, magazines, business and trade journals, and 

professional journals, publish at least 2,700 articles 

that refer to FTC competition activities and track the 

circulation of the media that publish those articles.

FY 2010 Performance Measures
Performance Plan 85 Fiscal Year 2010

•	 Evaluate what antitrust content on the FTC website 

generates the largest amount of public interest, 

and why, and use this information in setting future 

priorities.

•	 Seek input from consumer groups, business groups, 

bar groups, international competition organizations, 

and other FTC “customers” on the effectiveness of 

FTC educational efforts.

•	 Evaluate the transparency of FTC merger review policy by assessing the extent to which we communicate 

significant changes in such policy to stakeholders. 

In addition to its enforcement authority, the FTC has unique 

jurisdiction to gather, analyze, and make public certain 

information concerning the nature of competition as it affects 

U.S. commerce. The FTC uses that authority to hold public 

hearings, convene conferences and workshops, conduct 

economic studies on competition issues of significant public 

importance, and issue reports of its findings. This authority 

advances the competition goal in numerous ways.

The agency uses the information internally to refine the 

theoretical framework for analyzing competition issues and 

the empirical understanding of industry practices, which 

contributes substantially to an effective response to changing 

marketplace conditions. The information gained through 

this authority, combined with the agency’s professional 

expertise on competition issues, also contributes to a better 

understanding of business practices and their competitive 

and economic implications by various entities, including 

the business sector, the legal community, other enforcement 

authorities, the judiciary, foreign competition agencies, and 

governmental decision makers and policymakers at the 

federal, state, and local levels. In particular, the agency testiEvaluations

Objective 2.4: Enhance consumer welfare through research, 

reports, advocacy, and international cooperation and exchange
Performance Plan 86 Fiscal Year 2010

fies before Congress on competition issues. The FTC uses its 

expertise to encourage governmental actors at all levels to 

evaluate both the costs and the benefits of their policies for 

consumers, and to ensure such policies promote consumer 

welfare. This advocacy includes formal and informal dialogue with state and federal policymakers and amicus curiae 

briefs filed with state and federal courts. 

In addition, dialogues with competition authorities of other 

countries and international organizations, and, in some 

cases, technical assistance to other competition authorities, 

promotes procedural consistency and the adoption of competition policies that protect and enhance consumer welfare, 

which will ultimately benefit American consumers as well as 

consumers in other countries.

•	 Conduct public hearings, conferences, and workshops 

that bring together interested parties to enhance 

understanding of various practices and developments 

in the marketplace.

•	 Conduct studies as requested by Congress and other 

studies as appropriate.

•	 Conduct economic studies of the effects of business 

actions on competition and consumer welfare in 

accordance with agency data quality standards, as 

applicable, to ensure the quality of information that 

may be disseminated publicly.

•	 Target advocacy activities to encourage state, federal, 

and foreign government policymakers to evaluate 

both the costs and the benefits of their policies for 

consumers, emphasizing the impact on consumers of 

policies that unnecessarily restrict competition.

•	 File amicus curiae briefs with state and federal courts 

deciding important competition policy issues urging 

them to adopt legal rules that benefit consumers by 

promoting competition.

Strategies
Performance Plan 87 Fiscal Year 2010

•	 Participate in dialogue with competition authorities 

of other countries and international organizations on 

trans-national competition issues that affect American 

consumers and businesses and to promote sound 

consumer-welfare-based competition policy.

•	 Participate in technical assistance missions to countries with new competition regimes.

•	 Conduct hearings, conferences, and workshops on 

significant competition issues. 

•	 Continue to support outreach efforts to international 

bodies to explain U.S. antitrust perspectives on 

competition theories and approaches; participate in 

dialogue with competition authorities of other countries and international organizations on trans-national 

competition issues that affect American consumers 

and businesses; continue to aid the development of 

antitrust laws and programs in developing nations by 

participating in technical assistance missions.

•	 File comments or otherwise engage in advocacy with 

state, federal, and foreign government policymakers 

to encourage them to adopt policies that maximize 

consumer welfare by evaluating both the costs and 

the benefits of their policies for consumers. 

•	 Prepare amicus briefs addressing important competition policy issues under consideration in court 

proceedings.

•	 Track if FTC website pages relating to research, 

reports, advocacy, and international cooperation and 

exchange are accessed 700,000 times.

FY 2010 Implementation Plan

Performance Measures
Performance Plan 88 Fiscal Year 2010

•	 Convene, or participate substantively in, at least four 

workshops, conferences, seminars, and hearings 

involving significant competition-related issues. 

•	 Issue at least eight studies, reports, working papers 

and issues papers on significant competition-related 

issues.

•	 Make at least six advocacy filings with other federal 

and state government agencies urging them to assess 

the competitive ramifications and costs and benefits 

to consumers of their policies.

•	 Issue at least two to three advisory opinions to persons seeking agency review of proposed business 

actions.

•	 File at least two to three amicus briefs with courts 

addressing competition-related issues.

•	 Cooperate on 30 cases with foreign competition 

authorities, provide 25 consultations with or comments to foreign competition authorities, submit 

seven written submissions to international fora, and 

attend eight international events. FTC staff should 

hold five leadership positions in international 

organizations.

Because external factors may cause the results to fluctuate 

significantly from year to year, the latter five goals are to be 

evaluated in terms of an aggregate target for the five-year 

strategic plan period. These measures will help ensure that 

the agency is engaging in appropriate types and sufficient 

levels of research, reports, advocacy, and international cooperation and exchange to ensure that they are relevant to consumers, policymakers, business, and the legal community.

•	 Include evaluation forms with workshop and conference materials to help assess whether the workshops 

and conferences are an effective means of joining the 

debate relating to these issues.

Evaluations
Performance Plan 89 Fiscal Year 2010

•	 Seek input from consumer groups, business groups, 

bar groups, international organizations, and others on 

the value of the agency’s research, reports, advocacy 

submissions, and international activities relating to 

Maintaining Competition.

•	 Evaluate whether the FTC is filing comments or otherwise engaging in advocacy with state, federal, and 

foreign government bodies on competition policies 

that will have a significant impact on consumers and 

whether the recipients of these comments have given 

weight to the views expressed in these comments in 

making policy decisions that affect consumers.

•	 Develop and implement increasingly sophisticated 

web metric and analytical tools that will allow for a 

more accurate and representative view of the volume 

of traffic on the Commission’s antitrust related web 

pages. Monitor the results generated by the new 

web metric applications and, where necessary, make 

adjustments to the corresponding target.