SCOTUS: FTC’s UDAP powers are “startlingly abstract”

From Trump v. Slaughter: “the FTC has the power to promulgate substantive rules that carry the force of law. In the consumer-protection realm, for instance, the FTC is tasked with giving content to the startlingly abstract idea of “acts or practices which are unfair or deceptive.” 15 U. S. C. §57a(a)(1)(B).” But here’s how Gorsuch put it: “Often, these agencies do all this with hardly any statutory guidance, based on broad grants of legislative authority. The FTC, for example, enjoys what the Court calls the “startlin[g]” power to define, outlaw, and prosecute any “‘acts or practices which are unfair or deceptive.’” Which isn’t quite the same as what the Court said. Justice Gorsuch’s version, to my eyes, at least, suggests that in his view, Congress may not be able to give the FTC that power. Which is not how I interpret the Court’s version. Too bad neither acknowledged that Congress has given statutory guidance as to how the FTC is to use its unfairness power. See 15 U.S.C. 45b(n) (substantial injury test).