SURE Act

Statement on Unfairness Reinforcement and Emphasis Act or the SURE Act

This bill amends the Federal Trade Commission Act to provide additional factors for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to consider before it may declare acts or practices to be unlawful on the ground that they are unfair and likely to cause substantial injury to consumers.

Trivial or merely speculative injury or harm must be considered unlikely to cause substantial injury. But the FTC may consider substantial: (1) an injury that does small harm to a large number of people, or (2) a significant risk of concrete harm.

In determining the likelihood of substantial injury to consumers, the FTC must consider whether the act or practice results in: (1) monetary harm, (2) unwarranted health or safety risks, or (3) only emotional or other more subjective harm.

The FTC must also find an act or practice to be injurious in its net effects before it may be considered unfair. In determining the net effects, the FTC must consider: (1) remedy costs; and (2) burdens on society in general, such as increased paperwork or regulatory burdens or reduced incentives for innovation and capital formation.

The FTC may not second-guess consumer decisions, but may consider whether an act or practice unreasonably creates or takes advantage of an obstacle to the free exercise of consumer decisionmaking.