Wheeler-Lea Act

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Wheeler-Lea Act

Legislation in the United States, passed in 1938, that prohibited practices deemed unfair to competitors. It gave the Federal Trade Commission power to enforce this prohibition.

References in periodicals archive ?

1938, the year of John's birth, was notable for the passage of progressive social legislation, including the Fair Labor Standards Act (which established the minimum wage and regulated child labor), the Pure Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (which strengthened the nation's first consumer protection law), and the Wheeler-Lea Act (which gave the Federal Trade Commission explicit authority to regulate deceptive advertising).

2002 Distinguished fellow of the American council on consumer interests

Federal Trade Commission's powers expanded by Wheeler-Lea Act, which makes unlawful the dissemination or the causing of the dissemination of false advertisements of food, drugs, devices, or cosmetics.

False advertising of claims was the responsibility of the Federal Trade Commission under the 1938 Wheeler-Lea Act. The Wheeler-Lea Act even had specific provisions for false advertisement of drugs and medicines.