FTC Rules That Smartphones Cannot Cure Acne

Andy Chalk

One Flag, One Fleet, One Cat
Nov 12, 2002
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FTC Rules That Smartphones Cannot Cure Acne


The FTC has an important announcement: your smartphone cannot cure acne.

Today's mobile devices are so much more than just phones. You can play games on them, listen to music, surf the internet, snap high-quality photos and send them around the world and do countless other things. But one thing they cannot do, I'm sorry to say, is clear up your acne.

So declared the FTC, which recently proposed a settlement of complaints against the developers responsible for two mobile applications, Acne Pwner and AcneApp, which claimed that colored lights emitted from a mobile's screen, applied to affected areas for a few minutes each day, could significantly reduce blemishes and bacteria that causes acne. AcneApp was actually developed in conjunction with a dermatologist, Houston-based Dr. Gregory Pearson, and claimed that "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 percent."

But the FTC ruled that Pearson and AcneApp developer Koby Brown misrepresented the study, noting that while light therapy can help treat acne, the levels of light emitted by phone screens are too low to have any effect. "Smartphones make our lives easier in countless ways, but unfortunately when it comes to curing acne, there's no app for that," FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz said in a statement.

The whole thing sounds silly but a fair amount of money was spent on the two products. Roughly 3300 people bought Acne Pwner from the Android Marketplace for 99 cents, while 11,600 people dropped $1.99 at the App Store for AcneApp. Under the terms of the proposed settlements, Pearson and Brown will have to pay $14,294 and and Acne Pwner creator Andrew Finkle will have to pay $1700 to resolve the complaints, and they'll also be legally banned from "making safety and performance claims about any device without reliable scientific evidence."

Source: ITworld [http://www.itworld.com/it-managementstrategy/201405/ftc-no-your-smartphone-cant-heal-acne]


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imnot

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Apr 23, 2010
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Wait, People fall for this shit?

Also, I'm off to make some apps that cure cnacer.
 

intheweeds

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Apr 6, 2011
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Andy Chalk said:
Roughly 3300 people bought Acne Pwner from the Android Marketplace for 99 cents, while 11,600 people dropped $1.99 at the App Store for AcneApp.
I cannot believe there were 14,900 people who were that friggin stupid.
 

wooty

Vi Britannia
Aug 1, 2009
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Anyone who believed that a smarthone screen can cure acne is clearly a dumbass, like the fools who paid money for them "Xray" apps on phones or the "radar app", stupidity will always confuse and enrage me.
 

Worgen

Follower of the Glorious Sun Butt.
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Apr 1, 2009
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Whatever, just wash your hands.
somehow this ad seems to be relevant to this conversation
 

Scizophrenic Llama

Is in space!
Dec 5, 2007
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"Hold your smartphone, which has had your oily fingers all over it near problem acne areas."

Sounds like a totally good idea.
 

Xersues

DRM-free or give me death!
Dec 11, 2009
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Cure Acne while giving yourself radiation!

I want to make a joke about how iPhone users are more gullible than Android users, but either way, anyone that bought this probably already feels shame.
 

vrbtny

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Sep 16, 2009
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imnotparanoid said:
Wait, People fall for this shit?

Also, I'm off to make some apps that cure cnacer.
Darn, you ninja'd me. I'm making a weight-loss app, we should totally team up or something.
 

Jabberwock King

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Mar 27, 2011
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And with this, we strike a modest blow to pseudoscience that those quacks won't soon forget!... Or they'll just ignore this and get back to ripping people off.
 

McMullen

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Mar 9, 2010
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I'm not as shocked about the acne thing as I am that people still believe phones can give you cancer.

Guys... It was a flawed study. It was called that by the people who conducted it. It's fine.
 

westx207

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Oct 17, 2008
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Andy Chalk said:
Roughly 3300 people bought Acne Pwner from the Android Marketplace for 99 cents, while 11,600 people dropped $1.99 at the App Store for AcneApp.
Bearing in mind that the Android user base now surpasses the iOS user base, what does this tell you about the kind of person that uses an iPhone?
 

VanQ

Casual Plebeian
Oct 23, 2009
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In all honesty though, the people who fell for this kind of thing are likely the kind of people whose smart phone is significantly smarter than they themselves are.

I guess, when you think about it, they're only out of pocket $2 at most, while the guys that developed and sold the app should feel bad about what they've done, it isn't like they charged ridiculous amounts.

The folks that bought the app probably only used it once anyway, it seems kind of tedious to hold your phone to your cheek or wherever for several minutes every day.
 

GonzoGamer

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Apr 9, 2008
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App marketplaces have long been a goldmine of retards. It?s like the new home shopping network but the buy in is even cheaper and doesn?t even need to be thought out. You just need to have it on the marketplace when someone has extra money to spend at any time: day/night, sober/wasted.

These idiots should?ve tried the Pimple Popper app: it?s free, more satisfying, and does about the same mount of good for you.