FDA Blasts Company for ‘Liking’ Unapproved Product Claim
March 13th, 2013 // 2:53 pm @ jmpickett
How The Quality Manager Gets Fired!
Facebook’s “Like†button may not seem like something you really have to think about and commit yourself to before utilizing, but that’s not always the case. FDA wants companies to think twice before throwing the might of their social network behind any statement, even a simple thumbs up.
AMARC Enterprises, a supplement maker, advertises the benefits of its product — a drug called Poly-MVA — through using supposed customer claims about it. The item isn’t approved by the FDA, so the company most likely thought this method was a clever way to advertise the product without having to present any sort of actual evidence as to its claims. This didn’t please the FDA, which sent a warning letter to AMARC, stating that since Poly-MVA isn’t FDA-approved, the customer testimonials essentially falsify the product as approved.
In the FDA’s warning, it mentions one of these customer testimonials posted on Facebook, but notes that the company Liked it. Interestingly, the FDA implied that AMARC endorsed the claim by Liking it, which is grounds for a warning.
How The Quality Manager Gets Fired!
AMARC’s warning seems to be the only instance in which the FDA included a Facebook Like in a warning, as well as specifically citing a Like as part of a problem.
Though the FDA didn’t put forth some new ruling, the inclusion of the Facebook Like in the warning certainly means that the FDA has the act in its sights. This could lead to some kind of precedent being set somewhere down the line, which would make us — or at least, companies — put a little more thought into what we Like on a social network. It would also clearly define what a Like is — stating Likes are official endorsements, rather than a company or person simply calling attention to something.
