James Delahunty
13 Sep 2011 2:03
App developers who advertised that their Apps could treat Acne told to stop making "baseless claims."
The Applications were available via the Apple App Store and Google's Android Marketplace. AcneApp and Acne Power told users to hold their smartphone screens to their face for several minutes every day while the screens emitted Acne-terminating colors.
"Smartphones make our lives easier in countless ways, but unfortunately when it comes to curing acne, there's no app for that," said FTC Chairman, Jon Leibowitz. There were approximately 3,300 downloads of AcnePwner, which was offered for 99 cents in the Android Marketplace, and 11,600 downloads of AcneApp from the iTunes store, where it was sold for $1.99.
“This app 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%," AcneApp's description read.
The FTC charges that the claims made by both developers / marketed were unsubstantiated, and charged the marketers of AcneApp for flasely claiming that the study in the British Journal of Dermatology proves that blue and red light therapy, such as the type provided by AcneApp, is an effective acne treatment.
As part of the settlement, the marketers are barred 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.
Koby Brown and Gregory W. Pearson, doing business as DermApps (AcneApp), were ordered to pay $14,294 in damages, while Andrew N. Finkle, doing business as Acne Pwner, was ordered to pay $1,700.