An article on The Federal Trade Commission’s website states : According to an FTC complaint, there were approximately 3,300 downloads of AcnePwner, which was offered for 99 cents in the Android Marketplace. Ads for Acne Pwner stated, “Kill ACNE with this simple, yet powerful tool!” A similar title, AcneApp, claimed it was “developed by a dermatologist. A study published by the British Journal of Dermatology showed blue and red light treatments eliminated p-acne bacteria (a major cause of acne) and reduces skin blemishes by 76%.” There were approximately 11,600 downloads of AcneApp from the iTunes store, where it was sold for $1.99 (Source: Federal Trade Commission).
Federal Trade Commission is responsible for protecting consumers and promoting economic competition.
The settlements barred the marketers from making acne-treatment claims about their mobile apps and other medical devices, as well as the safety, performance, benefits, or efficacy claims about any device, without competent and reliable scientific evidence. The two marketers of these apps were also barred from misrepresenting research, tests, or studies.
Bottom line: Reproducible, validated results must be attained using defendable, scientific methodologies, even in the wild west of mobile applications. ■
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