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App developer settlement with FTC highlights watchdog's attention to apps

Two developers of acne-treatment apps are being barred from making acne treatment claims and must pay close to $16,000 in a settlement reached with the Federal Trade Commission. The case is a reflection of the fact that the quick growth in apps is not going unnoticed by regulatory bodies.

The FTC alleged that the mobile apps AcneApp and Acne Pwner made baseless claims that colored lights emitted from a mobile device would treat acne. Consumers who downloaded the apps were supposed to hold the display screen next to their skin for a few minutes every day.

?This settlement, along with another recent FTC settlement with an app developer for allegedly violating a children?s privacy rule, show that the FTC is as serious about evaluating allegedly deceptive practices in apps as it is anywhere else,? said Jason Koslofsky, an attorney with ArentFox LLP, Washington.

?The FTC is monitoring apps just as closely as it monitors traditional advertising and business practices,? he said.

?As more money flows into mobile, the FTC will undoubtedly keep a close eye on business practices there. The FTC is simply applying its long-standing rules ? here making health-related claims without scientific evidence ? to apps, but apps makers may not realize they need to be aware of those rules.?

No app for that
The cases brought by the FTC against the app makers are the first targeting health claims in the mobile app marketplace. The FTC charged that acne claims for both apps were unsubstantiated.

Ads for Acne Pwner stated ?Kill Acne with this simple yet powerful tool!?

The marketers of AcneApp claimed that the app was developed by a dermatologist. Additionally, it said that a study published by the British Journal of Dermatology showed that blue and red light treatments could eliminate a bacteria that causes acne and reduce skin blemishes by 76 percent.

"Smartphones make our lives easier in countless ways, but unfortunately when it comes to curing acne, there's no app for that," said Jon Leibowitz, chairman of the FTC in a statement.

Acne Pwner, which sold for 99 cents, had approximately 3,300 downloads, according to the FTC. AcneApp had approximately 11,600 downloads and was sold for $1.99.

The acne apps were sold in Apple?s iTunes Store and Google?s Android Marketplace.

The settlements reached in both cases bar the marketers from making acne-treatment claims about their mobile apps and from misrepresenting research.

Koby Brown and Gregory W. Pearson, which is doing business as DermApps, were also ordered to pay $14,294. Andrew N. Finkle, who released the Acne Pwner app, was ordered to pay $1,700.

?Mobile app developers and marketers should not release an app without considering the implications of privacy law, banking regulations and other laws,? Mr. Koslofsky said.

?And, any app developer who charges for their app must be sure they are not making any promises in advertising their app that could be construed as misleading,? he said.

Final Take
Chantal Tode is associate editor on Mobile Marketer, New York