By: Linda L. Goodman
On November 12th, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced it had sent letters warning 20 more marketers nationwide to stop making unsubstantiated claims that their products and therapies can prevent or treat COVID-19, the disease allegedly caused by the novel coronavirus. This is the ninth set of warning letters the FTC has announced pertaining to health-related COVID-19 claims. In all, the Commission has sent similar letters to more than 330 companies and individuals.
Some of the letters in the most recent announcement target novel products and “treatments.” This round goes after everything from copper water bottles to personal training, bead bracelets, and water filtration systems all claiming that it can fight the disease. Unfortunately, none of these marketers had published a scientific basis for the claim that these products or services can prevent or treat the disease.
The FTC sent the letters announced to the companies and individuals listed below. The recipients are grouped based on the type of therapy, product, or service they pitched as preventing or treating COVID-19.
Bead Bracelets:
- Bombshell Beads, LLC (Mount Juliet, TN)
Copper Water Bottles:
- Copper H2O (Blaine, WA)
Fitness Classes/Personal Training:
- Camp TUF (Pantego, TX)
Indoor Tanning/Red Light Therapy/Intravenous Ultraviolet Light Therapy:
- I B Tan (Citrus Heights, CA)
- Vibrant Life Oklahoma (Claremore, OK)
Peptide Therapies/Intravenous Vitamin Drips and Injections/Intravenous Laser Therapy:
- Age Management Institute Santa Barbara (Santa Barbara, CA)
- MD Beauty Labs, P.A. (W. Palm Beach, FL)
- Murfreesboro Bio Renew Clinic (Murfreesboro, TN)
- Park Avenue Skin Solutions (New York, NY)
- Revive Colorado (Denver, CO)
- Tribeca Wellness Collective (New York, NY)
Ozone Therapy/Stem Cell Therapy and Immunotherapy/Intravenous Therapy:
- American Regenerative Clinic (Bingham Farms, MI)
- Health and Wellness of Carmel (Carmel, IN)
- Howard Robins, DPM (New York, NY)
- The Fuel Stop (New York, NY)
Supplements:
- C’est Si Bon Company (Torrance, CA)
- Integrative Health Carolinas (Charlotte, NC)
- Robert O. Young (Valley Center, CA)
Water Filtration Systems:
- Hector Gotay Feliciano, dba Gotay’s Group Systems and Cebilon Puerto Rico (Puerto Rico)
- Karen Martí Reyes, dba Cebilon Y Vivenso #1Germany Sistem “Premios Awars [sic] 2020” (Puerto Rico)
In the letters, the FTC states that one or more of the efficacy claims made by the marketers were unsubstantiated because they are not supported by scientific evidence, and therefore violate the FTC Act. The letters advise the recipients to immediately stop making all claims that their products can prevent or treat COVID-19, and to notify the Commission within 48 hours about the specific actions they have taken to address the agency’s concerns.
The letters also noted that if the false claims do not cease, the Commission may seek a federal court injunction and an order requiring money to be refunded to consumers. Last April, the FTC announced its first such case against a marketer of a purported COVID-19 treatment, Marc Ching, doing business as Whole Leaf Organics. The case was settled in early July, with Ching agreeing to an order barring him from making the allegedly deceptive claims.
In July, the FTC filed a federal court complaint against California-based Golden Sunrise Nutraceutical, Inc. alleging that the seller was falsely advertising its $23,000 Emergency-D Virus treatment as an “FDA Accepted” plan for treating COVID-19. The complaint alleges that the company continued to market its COVID-19 treatment even after receiving a warning letter from the FTC in April 2020 and such marketing lacks a scientific basis required under the interpreting regulations of the FTC.
Bottom Line – be sure your claims are based on presentable scientific basis or leave Covid 19 out of the marketing.
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This article was originally posted on Cliclaw.com as part of my ongoing efforts to share valuable legal insights. I regularly contribute guest blogs to leading websites in the field of internet compliance. In these posts, I cover a range of topics to help businesses stay compliant in the ever-evolving digital world. You can read my latest guest contributions on Cliclaw.com.
This article is a publication of The Goodman Law Firm and is intended to provide information on recent legal developments. This article does not create an attorney-client relationship, nor should it be construed as legal advice or an opinion on specific situations. This may constitute “Attorney Advertising” under the Rules of Professional Conduct and under the law of other jurisdictions.
Linda L. Goodman is the founder of The Goodman Law Firm, concentrating its practice in internet business and law. Her firm’s clients include Advertisers, Affiliates, Affiliate Networks, and ISP’s.
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