On June 5, 2020, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sent six warning letters to multilevel marketing companies to stop making claims about their products’ ability to treat or prevent COVID-19 and about the earnings that people who have recently lost income can make. This is the second set of warning letters the FTC has sent to multilevel marketers.
The letters discuss claims made by the companies or their participants in social media posts and online videos that their products can treat or prevent COVID-19, that consumers are likely to make significant money if they join the marketer, or both.
The letters state that the health claims violate the FTC Act because they are not supported by scientific evidence. The FTC reiterated that currently there is no scientific evidence that these or any products or services can prevent or treat COVID-19. In addition, the letters state that the earnings claims are unsupported.
The letters instruct the companies to notify the FTC within 48 hours about the specific actions that they have taken to address the agency’s concerns.