SHIELD Act

Bill: 117-hr-2671
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Armstrong, Kelly [R-ND-At Large]
Introduced: 2021-04-20
Policy area: Commerce
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures

Criminal investigation, prosecution, interrogation

Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
Latest action: action_date: 2021-04-21
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Commerce.

Summaries:
action_date: 2021-04-20
action_desc: Introduced in House
text: <p><b>Solidifying Habitual and Institutional Explanations of Liability and Defenses Act or the SHIELD Act</b></p> <p>This bill provides that in any enforcement action the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) must prove a violation of law and may not base the action solely on guidelines, policy statements, or similar guidance.</p> <p>The bill provides that no guidelines, general statements of policy, or similar guidance issued by the FTC shall confer any rights or bind the FTC or any person, state, or locality to the approach recommended therein. Further, the bill authorizes a defendant in an enforcement action to offer any such guidelines, policy statements, or similar guidance as evidence of compliance with a provision of law that is enforced by the FTC.</p>

tv_txt: I 117th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 2671 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES April 20, 2021 Mr. Armstrong introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To amend the Federal Trade Commission Act to specify certain effects of guidelines, general statements of policy, and similar guidance issued by the Federal Trade Commission.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Solidifying Habitual and Institutional Explanations of Liability and Defenses Act or the SHIELD Act . 2. Effects of guidelines, general statements of policy, and similar guidance Section 18(a) of the Federal Trade Commission Act ( 15 U.S.C. 57a(a) ) is amended by adding at the end the following: (3) (A) No guidelines, general statements of policy, or similar guidance issued by the Commission shall confer any rights upon any person, State, or locality, nor shall operate to bind the Commission or any person, State, or locality to the approach recommended in such guidelines, general statements of policy, or similar guidance. In any enforcement action, the Commission shall prove a violation of a provision of law enforced by the Commission. The Commission may not base an enforcement action on, or execute a consent order based on, acts or practices that are alleged to be inconsistent with any such guidelines, general statements of policy, or similar guidance, unless the acts or practices violate a provision of law enforced by the Commission. (B) In any enforcement action, a defendant may offer as evidence of compliance with a provision of law enforced by the Commission, any guidelines, general statements of policy, or similar guidance issued by the Commission pursuant to that law.” (C) Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to confer any authority upon or negate any authority of the Commission to issue guidelines, general statements of policy, or similar guidance. .