Twitter chats are a great way for people to connect with each other at the same time to discuss a specific topic of interest on Twitter. The FTC hosts or participates in Twitter chats in real-time to share news of interest and answer questions about the work the agency is doing to protect America’s consumers and ensure competition in the marketplace. We’ve chatted about cases when they’ve been made public, new reports by FTC staff, and consumer and business education.
Chats are open to the public and everyone is encouraged to participate. Interested in joining staff during an upcoming chat? Check out the FTC's Events page for the current schedule. We generally promote each chat there, on the FTC's primary Twitter account (@FTC), and through email updates.
Have an idea for a chat? Let us know! Email socialmedia@ftc.gov.
Twitter Chat Guidelines
- We use Twitter’s quote feature to answer questions during a Twitter chat. This means we will “quote” a tweet, and provide an answer attached to that tweet. (In the past, we did a Q1/A1 format). You can see samples in our transcripts below of both styles.
- Unless posted otherwise, chats are limited to 60 minutes.
- We’ll answer questions from as many different participants as possible before going back to someone who has already asked a question.
- Remember that we cannot discuss non-public information, but will try to answer as many questions from participants as possible in the time allowed.
- Official transcripts posted to FTC.gov will have Twitter handles redacted. For more details about how we maintain records including Twitter handles, please read our Twitter Privacy Impact Assessment.
The following is a list of transcripts from previous FTC Twitter chats:
| Topic | Date | Details | Hashtag |
| Military Consumer Protection Day 2015 | July 2015 | FTC staff in the Division of Consumer and Business Education participated in a Twitter chat as part of Military Consumer Protection Day. Staff primarily used the @MilConsumer account to answer questions related to consumer issues faced by military personnel, veterans, and their families. OPA also shared some tweets from @FTC. | #MilConsumer |
| Forking Path | June 2015 | FTC staff in the Office of Public Affairs and the Bureau of Consumer Protection participated in a Twitter Chat. During the chat, staff answered questions related to the Forking Path case. | #AskFTC |
| Cyber Security | June 2015 | FTC staff in the Division of Consumer and Business Education participated in a Twitter Chat hosted by our OnGuardOnline.gov partner, @STOPTHNKCONNECT. | #ChatSTC |
| Financial Literacy (Mortgages) | April 2015 | FTC staff in the Office of Public Affairs and the Division of Consumer and Business Education participated in a Twitter Chat hosted by the FTC, @MHA4You, @CFPB, @HUDGov, and @EnergyStar. The chat was related to mortgages as part of April’s Financial Literacy Month. | #GovFinChat |
| FTC Robocall Challenges | April 2015 | FTC staff in the Division of Marketing Practices hosted a Twitter Chat to discuss the FTC’s latest robocall challenges: Robocalls: Humanity Strikes Back and DetectaRobo. | #DefeatRobocalls |
| Tips on Avoiding Email Hacking | April 2015 | FTC staff in the Division of Consumer and Business Education participated in a Twitter Chat hosted by OnGuardOnline.gov partner, @StopThnkConnect. | #ChatSTC |
| National Consumer Protection Week 2015: Imposter Scams | March 2015 | FTC staff co-hosted a Twitter Chat about imposter scams as part of National Consumer Protection Week, which ran March 1-7. | #NCPW2015 |
| Internet of Things Report | January 2015 | On Jan. 27, 2015, FTC staff released a report on the Internet of Things. Staff from the Division of Privacy and Identity Protection hosted a Twitter chat to answer questions about the report. | #FTCIoT |
| Tax ID Theft Awareness 2015 | January 2015 | Staff from the FTC’s Division of Privacy and Identity Protection co-hosted a Twitter chat with the Identity Theft Resources Center. The chat was part of the agency’s Tax Identity Theft Awareness Week, which ran Jan. 26-20. | #IDTheftChat |
| Internet of Things Report | January 2015 | On Jan. 27, 2015, FTC staff released a report on the Internet of Things. Staff from the Division of Privacy and Identity Protection hosted a Twitter chat to answer questions about the report. | #FTCIoT |
| 2014 Twitter chat transcripts and details | |||
| 2013 Twitter chat transcripts and details | |||
| 2012 Twitter chat transcripts and details | |||
| 2010-2011 Twitter chat transcripts and details | |||
