Consumer protection historians recognize three waves of consumer rights activism. The first, at the turn of the century, led to the passage of a first-of-its-kind pure food and drug law in 1906, its strengthening in 1912, and to the creation of the FTC in 1914. The second wave started in the 1930s and led to the main topic of this chapter: the formal adoption of consumer protection authority for the FTC and how the Agency implemented it.

While the FTC's powers were strengthened in the 1930s, historical forces beyond the Agency's control rose again. The Agency did not again gain footing until the 1960s, when the third wave of consumer protection – now labeled “consumerism” – came into force. This era saw some of the strongest presidential support of the consumer movement, some of the Agency's most qualified commissioners, and an earnest commitment to make the FTC more effective from both political parties. It also saw the FTC change from case-by-case enforcement to the creation of rules, which could have structural effects on the market.

Ambition in promulgating these rules, however, began to invoke the ire of the business community, and the Reagan administration used the FTC as an example of government out of control. This is interesting because KidVid, the controversial proposal to regulate advertising to children, was the capstone of a Republican-initiated campaign, reflecting a bipartisan and incremental approach to an intractable industry. KidVid offers lessons for privacy policy today, as information security cases were initiated by Republican commission leadership, yet have become controversial when policed by a Democratic Party-led FTC. More broadly, KidVid events offer lessons for us today in considering how the Agency should police privacy (by rule or by enforcing cases), and the extent to which it should take an activist posture.

THE SECOND WAVE OF CONSUMER PROTECTION

Recession-era realities in the 1930s focused consumers on product quality and reliability. There was much more widespread skepticism of advertising, both in its claims and in its value as an economic and social force. With the advent of the New Deal, there was also more trust in correcting problems with social programs.

In the mid-1930s, Congress again visited landmark consumer protection legislation. Congress reacted to growing public concern regarding the manufacturing process and the presence of dangerous products in commerce.