FTC advertising regulation: survivor or casualty of the Reagan revolution?

The Reagan administration sought to deregulate advertising but was ultimately unsuccessful in this aim since enforcement shifted to the states and private litigation. The Reagan FTC decreased its enforcement budget and ceased further advertising regulation, but these actions could be reversed by future commissions and the Bush FTC seems to be more pro-active. Positive changes made by the Reagan FTC include pursuing fraud cases in federal court in order to stop the fraudulent advertising as quickly as possible and fighting professional societies' advertising restraints on their members.