Friday, August 21, 2015

This Is An Important Warning For Those Who Might Trust A Dodgy Health App.

This appeared a few days ago:

Melanoma App Vendor Barred from Making Deceptive Health Claims

AUG 14, 2015 7:42am ET
Under a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission, a melanoma-detection app vendor has been barred from making further deceptive health claims about his products available for sale online in the Apple and Google app stores.
According to FTC, Avrom Lasarow is now “prohibited from making any misleading or unsubstantiated claims about the health benefits or efficacy of any product or service, including that a device detects or diagnoses melanoma.” Earlier this year, FTC charged U.K.-based Lasarow and his company—L Health Ltd.—with false advertising regarding the Mole Detective family of apps and their ability to detect melanoma or the risk of melanoma.
As part of the settlement, a $58,623.42 judgment was made against Lasarow which has been suspended based on his inability to pay the fine. However, FTC states that if he is later found to have misrepresented his finances, the full amount will become due immediately.
The FTC’s February 2015 complaint alleged that the Mole Detective apps instructed users to photograph a mole with a smartphone camera and that the apps could determine the mole’s melanoma risk, even assessing such risk in early stages.
More here:
There is a lesson here for all health app users. Make sure your app is properly validated and safe and if in doubt ask your GP!
David.

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