America’s entrepreneurs and small businesses generate nearly half of all U.S. economic activity and the lion’s share of innovation across all sectors of the economy. Costly red tape, especially from unnecessary and complex rules pushed through in the final days of the Biden Administration, threatens to undermine President Trump’s prosperity agenda.
Among the long list of rules across federal agencies are two pending FTC rule proposals: one to expand the Business Opportunity Rule and a new Earnings Claims Rule. These leftover drafts from the Biden FTC are poorly crafted, ideologically driven, and duplicative of existing consumer protections. They threaten to raise costs, stifle legitimate enterprises, and erode opportunities for businesses at precisely the time when our economy needs growth and dynamism.
These rules are not minor tweaks—they are sweeping changes that could disrupt sectors across the entire economy when stability is needed. The expanded Business Opportunity Rule is intrusive government overreach pure and simple. It risks ensnaring a wide range of industries that have little to do with the original intent of the rule: cracking down on and protecting consumers from deceptive and misleading schemes.
Under the Biden-era proposal, any business offering sales roles with basic support or tools could fall under the rule. That means real estate brokerages, direct selling organizations, insurance firms, financial services providers, and companies working in digital assets could all be swept into a costly regulatory framework. The result? Higher compliance burdens, legal ambiguity, and fewer opportunities for Americans to build flexible income streams and entrepreneurial careers.
Moreover, the FTC has no jurisdiction over several of these sectors - namely banking and insurance - making the proposed rule not only harmful but legally questionable.
Make no mistake: deceptive and misleading claims are already illegal. The FTC has long had the authority to go after bad actors, and it has used that authority effectively. There is no need to wildly expand the rule to cover legitimate business models that help people to pursue their dreams and get ahead.
The proposed new Earnings Claims Rule is another example of regulatory overkill. While it aims to prevent misleading income claims, it works to limit legitimate business activity while imposing costly record-keeping tasks. For many businesses, the rule could severely limit how they communicate opportunity and value to prospective partners and employees.
These FTC proposals fly directly in the face of what voters clearly signaled in November: a rejection of intrusive regulation and a bloated bureaucracy that drive costs higher across the economy and that undermine entrepreneurial opportunities and small business growth. As noted in a pre-election survey conducted by the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council, 88 percent of small business owners wanted the new administration to prioritize reducing regulatory burdens.
President Trump’s swath of executive orders have focused on regulatory restraint and common sense. For example, an order issued earlier this year to implement the Department of Government Efficiency’s Deregulatory Initiative specifically called for the rescission of regulations that “impose undue burdens on small business and impede private enterprise and entrepreneurship.” Therefore, FTC Commissioner Ferguson has an immediate opportunity to prevent the needless and duplicative excesses of the previous administration from undermining President Trump’s clearly communicated priorities. Terminating the Business Opportunity and Earnings Claims proposals - rather than rewriting them - and recommitting the FTC to enforcing current law, would serve to fulfill those priorities and provide certainty for small businesses.
President Trump has been clear about his pro-growth, pro-opportunity, pro-entrepreneurship agenda. Regulatory burdens imposed over the course of the Biden Administration and those rushed through at the 11th hour threaten to stall innovation, investment, and small business growth. Rescinding these two FTC rules that were acted upon during the final days the Biden Administration will help entrepreneurs do what they do best – build businesses, innovate, create jobs, and drive our economy forward.
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