The Federal Trade Commission has since issued an order that requires 1-800 Contacts, as well as the other fourteen online retailers, to cease and desist from enforcing the unlawful provisions. This includes ceasing all existing agreements as well as entering into any similar agreements in the future. The order also prohibits 1-800 Contacts from partnering and agreeing with other lens sellers to hamper with online advertising.
The Commission’s opinion stems from an August 2016 administrative complaint where the FTC sued 1-800 Contacts for orchestrating and maintaining a web of anticompetitive agreements, resulting in some consumers paying higher retail prices for contact lenses, as well as suppressing competition. 1-800 Contacts has filed petitions in the past and may still file a petition for review of the Commission Opinion and Final Order with a U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals within 60 days after service of the Final Order.
