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Latta Questions FTC Commissioners on Consumer Protection, Misleading Medication Advertisements

Congressman Bob Latta (R-Bowling Green), Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Digital Commerce and Consumer Protection, questioned Federal Trade Commissioners about consumer protection and misleading medication advertisements at a hearing this morning. At the oversight hearing, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Joseph Simons and Commissioners Maureen Ohlhausen, Noah Phillips, Rohit Chopra, and Rebecca Slaughter answered questions from Committee Members on a number of issues.

Latta discussed data privacy issues in his opening statement. He said, “We continue to remain concerned about cybercrime, estimated to billions to the global economy, and how businesses prioritize protecting the most sensitive data they hold about individuals. As we all know, there is no such thing as 100% perfect security. We will continue to work with regulators to understand what transpired in the recent high-profile breaches and what we should learn from these situations for the future.”

Latta’s opening statement can be seen here

In his questions, Latta raised the issue of misleading or fraudulent advertisements warning that certain medications or drugs that may cause complications, potentially causing harm to consumers. He said, “Chairman Simons, we have all seen the lawsuit advertisements that proclaim certain medications or drugs may cause complications and to contact an organization or law firm airing the advertisement for possible recourse.  I understand that these advertisements may at times be misleading or in some instances outright fraudulent, leading to potential physical harm. Is this an issue the FTC is focused on and, if you are, what is the FTC doing to prevent such misleading or false ads?”

Chairman Simons said the FTC is glad that this concern has been brought to their attention and they will work with the Food and Drug Administration on the issue.

Video of Latta’s questions is available here and here

   

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