Last week at our #BakerDigitalForum (BakerHostetler’s forum on advertising, e-commerce, data privacy & security law) we heard from Richard Cleland, assistant director, Advertising Practices, for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. He informed attendees that the FTC’s priorities often come from the headlines, citing COVID-19 as the first example of current events informing enforcement priorities. A mere three days after these remarks, the FTC and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued seven – yes, seven – joint letters to a variety of companies that allegedly are taking advantage of fears surrounding the pandemic and making advertising claims related to the coronavirus. The agencies invoked Uncle Joey from Full House, warning the companies (and others making similar claims) to cut it out.

As the letters state, there “currently are no vaccines, pills, potions, lotions, lozenges or other prescription or over-the-counter products to treat or cure” COVID-19, so any advertising claims touting such benefits “are not supported by competent and reliable scientific evidence,” which is the standard for substantiating health claims under the FTC Act. For its part, the FDA also considers the products at issue as “unapproved new drugs” and “misbranded drugs” in violation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. The products range from essential oils to colloidal silver products to frankincense to a “Coronavirus Protocol” of teas and tinctures. The agencies allege the recipients of the letters are making unsubstantiated efficacy claims tantamount to a public health threat, and warn that the agencies are “prepared to take enforcement actions against companies that continue to market this type of scam.”