Today, at the urging of Members of Congress, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced that it will delay enforcement of its Red Flags Rule for the fourth time. Financial institutions and creditors subject to enforcement by the FTC will now have until June 1, 2010 to develop written policies and procedures to detect and respond to so-called identity theft “red flags.”

The FTC’s announcement does not impact the separate timeline of the proceeding we reported on here (in which the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that the Federal Trade Commission’s Red Flags Rules cannot be enforced against lawyers) or any possible appeals. Moreover, the FTC’s announcement does not affect other federal agencies’ ongoing enforcement of the rule as it relates to financial institutions and creditors subject to their oversight.