Andrew Smith Recalls Era as FTC Director

Andrew Smith, who became Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection (BCP) in 2018, ended his time with the agency on January 29, 2021. In a LinkedIn post recapping his tenure there, he said:

Despite a month-long government shutdown and a once-in-a-century pandemic, BCP brought more than 200 enforcement actions against companies great and small, including many household names, obtaining strong injunctions and billions of dollars in civil penalties and consumer redress.

BCP also had several firsts, including the first cases holding technology platforms liable in connection with user-generated content; the first small business financing cases; the first cases against VoIP service providers and finance companies for assisting and facilitating fraud; the first cases involving fake reviews, fake rankings and consumer review gag provisions; the first fair lending case at the FTC in more than a decade; the first paperless redress program; and the first CBD cases.

The FTC has been going through some changes with the introduction of a new administration. FTC Commissioner Rohit Chopra, for example, will be the next head of the CFPB, pending his confirmation.