WASHINGTON, D.C. — Prompted by Congress, the Federal Trade Commission has again pushed back its enforcement of the Red Flags Rule until June 1 for financial institutions and creditors that fall under its jurisdiction.

FTC enforcement of the rule — which was created as part of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act to outline the procedures that creditors and financial institutions must put in place to identify, detect and react to possible identity theft — had already been pushed back to Nov. 1.

Also, late last week, the U.S. Court for the District of Columbia deemed that the FTC cannot mandate that attorneys follow the Red Flags Rule.

"Today's announcement that the commission will delay enforcement of the Rule until June 1, 2010, does not affect the separate time line of that proceeding and any possible appeals," FTC officials emphasized.

"Nor does it affect other federal agencies' ongoing enforcement for financial institutions and creditors subject to their oversight," they added.