> seems to be something the agency is just declaring to be true and daring lawsuits to challenge
I'm pretty sure that this is exactly how it's supposed to work. Federal agencies like the FTC have (had?) the authority to make rules and reinterpret existing rules with the force of law.
In the (present) US government, it really can't work any other way. Without this sort of autonomy, any action by the FTC, EPA, etc would require congressional approval, which would mean that they effectively would never be able to function at all. Law moves far, far too slowly. FTC needs autonomy to go around the law to react to rapidly changing markets and technologies. Notionally their actions should be codified by Congress after the fact, but Congress is incapable of doing anything useful within 20 years.
Especially after recent supreme court decisions, which I support, Congress has to give an agency specific authority within defined boundaries in order to make regulations which have the force of law.
Congress doesn't have to get down to the very specifics (like for example emissions standards numbers for cars), but it does have to be specific enough (can't say: EPA, you're responsible for environment stuff, make whatever laws you feel like).
The legislation charges the FTC with preventing unfair business practices, defines what it means by unfair, and then gives authority to address these things through administrative actions or the courts.
1) Congress members are (generally) not experts outside of law and will probably leave out some word somewhere and then the new regulation gets overturned as the court rules it not in the agency's purview because congress forgot one thing.
2) Congress has been ineffective almost to the point of complete deficiency in the past 10 years, and will likely not pass many new regulations requiring specificity.
I'm pretty sure that this is exactly how it's supposed to work. Federal agencies like the FTC have (had?) the authority to make rules and reinterpret existing rules with the force of law.
In the (present) US government, it really can't work any other way. Without this sort of autonomy, any action by the FTC, EPA, etc would require congressional approval, which would mean that they effectively would never be able to function at all. Law moves far, far too slowly. FTC needs autonomy to go around the law to react to rapidly changing markets and technologies. Notionally their actions should be codified by Congress after the fact, but Congress is incapable of doing anything useful within 20 years.