Key players: Mufarrige represents the FTC, targeting ticketing firms like Ticketmaster and brokers under the BOTS Act (prohibiting bot-driven ticket scalping); payment processors, facilitators, and platforms for fraud enablement; and subscription companies like Paddle, Cliq, Cleo AI, and Amazon ($2.5B ROSCA settlement) under ROSCA (mandating clear disclosures, consent, and easy cancellations) and FTC Act Section 5.[1][2][3][4][5] Efforts frame FTC as "market-reinforcing" for fair competition.[1][2][4]
Context and timeline: These priorities build on 2025 enforcement trends under the current administration (one year in by early 2026), including ROSCA actions, warning letters on "Made in USA" claims (July 2025) and consumer reviews (December 2025), plus rules like Junk Fees (effective May 2025).[3][4][5][6] BOTS Act and ROSCA enable civil penalties up to $53,088 per violation daily; recent cases emphasize upstream fraud targeting and negative-option scams.[1][2][3][4]
Newsworthy now: Delivered just 13 days ago (March 5), amid rising 2026 actions on subscriptions, payments, and ticketing—post-2025 settlements and amid Trump-era laws like TAKE IT DOWN Act—signals imminent rulemaking/enforcement, urging consumer-facing businesses to audit compliance.[1][2][3][4][5][9]