Update
VPLC Joins National Coalition Defending FTC Independence
Published
Virginia Poverty Law Center has joined 39 consumer protection, privacy, and competition organizations from across the country in an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold long-standing protections for members of independent federal agencies.
The brief—filed in Slaughter v. Trump—supports the reinstatement of Federal Trade Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, who was removed by the President without cause. For nearly a century, the Supreme Court has recognized that Commissioners of the Federal Trade Commission may only be removed for “inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office,” a safeguard designed to preserve independent, expertise-driven decision-making.
Why This Case Matters
The coalition argues that weakening or eliminating these removal protections would undermine the FTC’s ability to protect consumers and ensure fair markets. Since the 1930s, the FTC’s independence has played a central role in policymaking on issues such as tobacco warnings, antitrust enforcement, and data privacy. These protections also apply to more than two dozen federal agencies whose missions include shielding the public from deceptive, unfair, and unsafe corporate practices.
Allowing any President to dismiss Commissioners at will, the brief warns, could open the door to political interference, the entrenchment of corporate interests, and the sidelining of agency experts in favor of political allies or major donors. Such a shift could threaten consumer safety, weaken oversight of powerful industries, and allow Big Tech to expand unregulated access to Americans’ personal data.
“An independent FTC is crucial to free and open marketplaces, which are essential to our economic system,” said Jay Speer, Executive Director of Virginia Poverty Law Center.
Who Filed the Brief
The amicus filing was led by the Consumer Federation of America, the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), and Demand Progress Education Fund, and prepared by the Center for Consumer Law and Economic Justice at U.C. Berkeley School of Law and the law firm Berger Montague.
Read the Full Filing
You can read the full amicus brief here.
