Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ADVERTISING NEWS: FTC settles with marketer of “melanoma detection” apps, (Aug 13, 2015)

By Jody Coultas, J.D.

Avrom Lasarow, owner of L Health Ltd., has settled FTC charges that he made false and unsubstantiated claims about his “Mole Detective” app. Lasarow is barred from making any further deceptive health claims about his products.

MelApp and Mole Detective, both under investigation by the FTC, instructed users to photograph a mole and enter information about it. Then, the apps purportedly would calculate the risk of melanoma the mole posed. According to the FTC, the marketers represented that the apps accurately analyzed melanoma risk and were effective even in the early stages of the disease, although they lacked scientific evidence to back up their claims.

Health Discovery Corporation, the marketer for MelApp, settled the suit, and was prohibited from claiming that any device detects melanoma, diagnoses melanoma, or increases users’ chances of early detection, unless the representation is not misleading and supported by reliable scientific evidence. New Consumer Solutions LLC, the developer and initial marketer behind Mole Detective, settled their FTC suit under similar terms.

Lasarow, who took over ownership of Mole Detective after it was developed by New Consumer Solutions, was the last to settle. Under the proposed settlement, Lasarow is prohibited from making any misleading or unsubstantiated claims about the health benefits or efficacy of any product or service, including that a device detects or diagnoses melanoma.

Companies: L Health Ltd.; New Consumer Solutions LLC; Health Discovery Corporation

News: Advertising ConsumerProtection FederalTradeCommissionNews