WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Trade Commission announced a string of enforcement actions last week targeting companies accused of deceptive practices, anticompetitive conduct, and unlawful billing schemes, underscoring the agency’s renewed focus on consumer protection and competition under the Trump administration.
On Sept. 15, the FTC said education technology provider Chegg Inc. will pay $7.5 million to settle allegations that it made it unreasonably difficult for consumers to cancel subscriptions and in some cases continued charging users after cancellation requests. The company, which markets homework and writing assistance tools primarily to students, will be required to implement simple cancellation mechanisms under a proposed court order.
“It harms the American people when companies fail to provide simple mechanisms to cancel recurring charges as Congress required,” said Christopher Mufarrige, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection.
That same day, three directors resigned from Sevita Health’s board after the FTC raised concerns that their simultaneous service on the board of competitor Beacon Specialized Living Services violated antitrust laws. Officials said the resignations resolved the issue and warned other companies to avoid similar conflicts.
On Sept. 17, the agency said it would distribute more than $666,000 to more than 4,200 consumers harmed by “Blueprint to Wealth,” a fraudulent business opportunity scheme that promised large profits but delivered none. The case marked the conclusion of a multi-year enforcement effort that shut down the operators in 2023.
The FTC, together with the Justice Department, also released the 47th annual Hart-Scott-Rodino report on premerger reviews, showing more than 2,000 notified transactions in fiscal 2024, a quarter of them valued at over $1 billion. The agencies reported 32 enforcement actions, many involving healthcare, technology, and grocery markets.
Also on Sept. 17, FTC Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson submitted recommendations to the White House Office of Management and Budget for eliminating or revising regulations deemed anticompetitive. The report, prepared in response to a Trump executive order, identified rules across transportation, education, consumer safety, and agriculture that officials said hinder competition and favored incumbents.
The week culminated Sept. 18 with the FTC and seven states suing Live Nation and its Ticketmaster subsidiary, accusing them of working with brokers to inflate ticket prices in the secondary market while deceiving consumers with hidden fees and false ticket limits. The complaint alleges that the companies allowed brokers to circumvent security measures, profited from resale markups, and withheld true ticket costs until the final stage of transactions.
“American live entertainment is the best in the world and should be accessible to all of us. It should not cost an arm and a leg to take the family to a baseball game or attend your favorite musician’s show,” Ferguson said.
The suit, filed in federal court in California, seeks civil penalties and monetary relief for consumers.
The flurry of actions highlights the FTC’s aggressive enforcement posture, targeting practices ranging from subscription traps to corporate board conflicts and inflated ticketing fees — all areas with direct impact on American consumers.
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