A direct seller’s Income Disclosure Statement (IDS) is a resource used to set earning and expense expectations. It is vital that direct sellers accurately disclose the business experience in their IDS. And the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has made it clear that it is laser-focused on—and has high expectations for—the contents and use of an IDS.

According to the FTC Act, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is to be directed by five Commissioners. Of those, only three can be of the same political party. These Commissioners serve for a seven-year term and may only be removed by the President for what the FTC Act calls “inefficiency, neglect of duty or malfeasance […]

In response to the Federal Trade Commission’s recent enforcement action involving individual participants in a direct selling company, Direct Selling Association (DSA) CEO Dave Grimaldi issued the following statement:

The US direct selling industry is a $40‑billion economic engine, empowering over 13 million Americans—75 percent of whom are women—to earn supplemental and full-time income that helps pay for groceries, utilities, childcare and other everyday essentials. Yet despite this industry’s scale, transparency and decades‑long commitment to consumer protection, the Federal Trade Commission continues to treat direct selling as an adversary rather than a partner.

In 2026 DSN readers should learn whether companies operating in the United States have the right to have legal claims brought against them by the federal government determined by courts, rather than through an administrative process designed and operated by the very federal government agency—such as the FTC—which brings the claims.

As regulators examine marketing practices more closely and social media reshapes how independent sellers communicate, companies across the channel are investing more deliberately in compliance leadership.

At the DSA Legal and Regulatory Conference, Lois Greisman, Associate Director of the Division of Marketing Practices at the FTC, delivered remarks that underscored a clear regulatory shift: the FTC’s growing focus on misleading income claims and inadequate disclosures rather than traditional structural pyramid scheme analysis alone.

Direct sales and MLM companies face an evolving landscape of legal and regulatory challenges that impact how they operate, recruit and promote their businesses. Notably, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) continues to modify its playbook in the aftermath of AMG Capital Mgmt., where the Supreme Court limited the commission’s enforcement resources. Below are three external threats companies may face in 2026.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has formally abandoned its nationwide non-compete ban. In a 3-1 vote, the FTC dismissed the non-compete rule which had been previously stalled in August 2024 by a Texas federal court and had yet to officially take effect.

Direct Selling Association CEO Dave Grimaldi urged Federal Trade Commission leadership members to make rules based on data, not assumptions. Grimaldi was participating in a panel discussion hosted by the American Enterprise Institute entitled The FTC at the Crossroads: The Path Forward for Competition and Consumer Protection where senior FTC leadership was in attendance.

A US federal appeals court has overturned the Federal Trade Commission’s “click to cancel” rule. The rule would have made it easier for consumers to cancel subscriptions by requiring companies to provide a straightforward way to cancel subscriptions and recurring charges and would have made it illegal to prevent cancellation through retention offers or long call center wait times.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has reached a settlement with Match Group, the owner of online dating platforms Tinder, Hinge, OKCupid, Match.com, Plenty of Fish and more.