The COVID-19 Consumer Protection Act (COVID-19 Act) was passed last year to protect the public from deceptive marketing related to the treatment, cure, prevention, mitigation, or diagnosis of COVID–19, or any government benefit related to COVID-19, by making such practices illegal under the Federal Trade Commission Act (FTC Act). The COVID-19 Act also authorizes the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to seek civil monetary penalties for first-time violations of the COVID-19 Act, a remedy not normally available under the FTC Act.

