{
  "schema_version": "1.1",
  "id": "ftc-civil-penalty-53088-per-violation-2026",
  "slug": "ftc-civil-penalty-53088-per-violation-2026",
  "url": "https://groundedkit.com/claims/ftc-civil-penalty-53088-per-violation-2026/",
  "api_url": "https://groundedkit.com/api/claims/ftc-civil-penalty-53088-per-violation-2026.json",
  "claim": "The FTC's maximum civil penalty is $53,088 per violation, unchanged for 2026",
  "commonly_cited_as": "\"FTC fines can be up to $53,088 per violation\" / \"What is the FTC penalty per violation?\"",
  "verdict": "verified",
  "verdict_definition": "Primary source found; it says the same thing, the scope matches, and it is reasonably current.",
  "confidence": "high",
  "rating": {
    "value": 5,
    "best": 5,
    "worst": 1
  },
  "origin": {
    "publisher": "Federal Trade Commission",
    "title": "16 CFR 1.98 (Adjustment of civil monetary penalty amounts) and Federal Register notice 2026-18853 (Sept. 15, 2026)",
    "year": "2025 (amount); 2026 (no-change notice)"
  },
  "quote": "Section 5(m)(1)(A) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 45(m)(1)(A)—$53,088 ... the Federal Trade Commission (\"FTC\")'s civil penalty amounts will remain unchanged during 2026. The FTC will continue to apply the 2025 civil penalty levels.",
  "method": "Regulation text (eCFR) and the FTC's Federal Register notice; the 2026 inflation adjustment was cancelled because October 2025 CPI-U data was not produced.",
  "drift": [
    "Date: older articles quote earlier, lower inflation-adjusted maximums; it is a per-violation maximum, not a typical fine"
  ],
  "interest": "n/a (federal regulator).",
  "safe_rephrasing": "Violations of FTC rules or orders can carry civil penalties of up to $53,088 per violation; the FTC kept that 2025 maximum in place for 2026.",
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "eCFR — 16 CFR 1.98",
      "url": "https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/chapter-I/subchapter-A/part-1/subpart-L/section-1.98",
      "primary": true
    },
    {
      "title": "Federal Register (govinfo) — FTC Civil Penalty Inflation Adjustments, Sept. 15, 2026",
      "url": "https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2026-09-15/html/2026-18853.htm",
      "primary": true
    }
  ],
  "kind": "reference_fact",
  "as_of": "Amount applies to penalties assessed after Jan. 17, 2025; FTC said on Sept. 15, 2026 it will keep 2025 levels for 2026",
  "last_checked": "2026-10-16",
  "stale": false,
  "date_reviewed": "2026-10-16",
  "license": "CC BY 4.0",
  "license_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"
}