Wilson Sonsini partner Maureen Ohlhausen and associate Austin Del Priore recently authored a Law360 article examining how the history of the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) Contact Lens Rule serves as a case study for the agency’s new guidance program. The piece explains that the new program, announced by the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection on September 10, allows businesses and other stakeholders to petition the Commission to resolve rule ambiguities, conflicts between a rule and statute, and other significant interpretive issues without a full notice-and-comment rulemaking process.

The authors trace the Contact Lens Rule from the Fairness to Contact Lens Consumers Act of 2003 through its issuance and later amendments and conclude that its success reflects the value of stakeholder input in producing clearer industry guidance.

To read the full article, click here.