US Court nullifies FTC requirement for click-to-cancel

Not the FTC's fault.

The problem is US congress has not functioned for 2 decades. They no longer pass actual laws. This means the FTC is stuck reinterpreting their existing powers to try and squeeze out regulation that they can but that's it.

If the FTC can’t do what the FTC is supposed to do, then that is the FTC’s fault for continuing to exist. It’s unfit for purpose and should be shut down.

The ftc isn’t supposed to create laws though. I tend to overshoot on the consumer’s side, but the ftc is overstepping with actions like this. There should be a law passed on this point and then ftc can enforce. Or ftc can sue based on existing law and let courts buy their interpretation.

Even if we were to accept your premise (if broken, throw out), it's still Congress that decides whether the FTC exists or not.

> There should be a law passed on this point

Right; there was. We’d refer to that as the “enabling act” by which Congress delegates regulatory lawmaking authority to the FTC.

> The FTC isn’t supposed to create laws

You have deeply misunderstood US federal regulatory law.

> Or FTC can sue based on existing law

Yes; that’s the idea. Regulations are law.

The FTC have no say in choosing to exist or not exist, or what laws are passed that they are supposed to enforce. In some cases, an agency intentionally choosing to not carry out their duties would even be breaking the law and subject to penalty or punishment. How the FTC goes about interpreting their duties and then the court system correcting their behavior when they disagree or misbehave is the system working as intended. If they don't have laws to interpret for an issue though, that's a legislative problem.

The real question is why isn't congress doing their job? They control both the existence and funding of the FTC and additionally the laws the FTC are tasked with interpreting and enforcing. If congress is unfit for purpose they should be replaced.

While it’s correct to assert the FTC can’t choose to ignore its enabling act, it’s false to say: 1) the FTC has no say in the laws they are supposed to enforce 2) Congress controls the laws the FTC is tasked with enforcing.

As to 1, the FTC writes the laws it enforces. These laws are called regulations. As to 2, of course Congress could write laws that have to be enforced, but when it comes to regulatory agencies, Congress does quite the opposite. Instead of writing the laws concerning trade, Congress wrote an enabling act delegating this authority to the agency.

Calling for the replacement of a branch of government without understanding any of this would be avoidable with a better educational system.

>Calling for the replacement of a branch of government without understanding any of this would be avoidable with a better educational system.

I could be wrong, but IIUC, what GP meant by "If congress is unfit for purpose they should be replaced."

Is that we should vote the current congress-critters out of office and replace them with different ones -- who might actually do their job.