The Federal Trade Commission announced that it sent another round of warning letters to marketers, telling them to stop making unsubstantiated claims that their products and services can prevent or treat COVID-19.  This is the eighth round of warning letters that the FTC has sent since the beginning of the pandemic, bringing the total number of letters sent to about 300.  

The FTC reached out to marketers promoting products and services such as, acupuncture, electric current devices, IV therapies, nasal spray, skincare products, dietary supplements, vitamins, botanicals, and herbal remedies.  The FTC said that the claims that they are making are false because "there is no scientific evidence that these, or any, products or services can prevent or treat the disease." 

For example, the FTC sent a warning letter to KW Technology, telling the company to stop marketing a card that you hang around your neck as something that can prevent consumers from catching COVID-19.  The FTC pointed to claims such as, "All you need to do is hang it on your neck or attach it to your collar, close to your mouth and nose. If used correctly, it kills 99.99% of most harmful bacteria and viruses, which live in the air you breathe, within a three-foot radius."  

This latest round of warning letters shows that not only is the FTC continuing to aggressively go after marketers that make false unsubstantiated claims related to COVID-19, the FTC is looking at a wide variety of media where these claims are made, such as company websites, blogs, YouTube videos, blogs, and Facebook, and Instagram.