As well as making such unsubstantiated claims, Meduņecka failed to mention that she was being paid to promote them. “After PTAC’s repeated invitations to perform voluntary actions, the person has not taken measures to ensure that the commercial practices implemented by themselves comply with the requirements of regulatory acts. At the same time, the person has not cooperated with the institution in the administrative process,” PTAC noted. Therefore, the PTAC concluded that the violation was significant, especially taking into account Meduņecka’s status as the owner and true beneficiary of a company called SIA “Smartlife”.
“When assessing the offense committed by the individual, PTAC has taken into account the offense’s scope, nature, duration, impact on the legal interests of consumers (especially vulnerable groups of society – children and their parents, people with oncological diseases), the role of the person in the violation and the circumstances of the violation analyzed in the decision,” PTAC said.
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There have, of course, been several other cases where “influencers” or wellness personalities were sanctioned for false or unsubstantiated health claims, especially when they also failed to disclose paid promotion, e.g.:
- Belle Gibson (Australia) was fined A$410,000 after falsely claiming she had cured brain cancer through diet and alternative therapies, a case that became one of the best-known influencer health fraud stories.
- Teami (US) was targeted by the FTC in a settlement over detox tea promotion: the company used influencers who made false health claims and failed to disclose their paid relationship, and the settlement included a $1 million payment.
- France’s DGCCRF has cracked down on influencers promoting supplements and “health” products with misleading claims; the watchdog said false claims and concealed advertising can lead to fines of up to €300,000 and prison terms in serious cases.
- Turkey’s Advertising Board has fined influencers for supplement promotions that implied medical or health benefits without authorization, including cases where the posts suggested stress, anxiety, or insomnia relief.
- UK: the ASA has repeatedly sanctioned influencers for misleading health or weight-loss claims, including a 2024 ruling involving Katie Price and The Skinny Food Co.
The recurring issues are usually:
- false or unsubstantiated health claims,
- disguised advertising, and promotion of products,
- targeting vulnerable audiences such as people with serious illnesses or parents of children.
The above cases are laudable; yet they are extremely rare exceptions. In view of the plethora of false health claims made by “influencers” and considering the risks of such activities, these pubishments are far too seldom. If you ask me, the authorities should be adequately staffed to persue each case swiftly and punishments should such that they can act as an effective deterrant.
So, why do our governments not get their acts together? Surely, this cannot be a question of money, as the fines would even bring in a tidy profit! Could it be that the “wellness industry” is rich and influential enough to prevent large-scale punitive actions? Could it be that our governments do not appreciate the damage false health claims cause to people’s finances and health? Or could it be that they simply don’t care?
3 Responses to “Influencers” who make false health claims should get heavily fined
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Part of the reason could be that there are a lot of influencers peddling this stuff on various platforms. Laws will probably need to written or rewritten and that is a slow process.
In US, before RFK Jr the regulatory agencies were mostly toothless and now they are pretty much jawless.
Sure, governments do care, it’s just that they care about losing votes. So to avoid alienation of the flower-power brigade, health regulators have their budgets strangled by governments of all stripes. Those regulators in turn have to prioritise their activities to concentrate on the most egregious offenders.
Like homeoquack Fran Sheffield and her company Homeopathy Plus, who were prosecuted and fined $138,000 for breaches of Australian Consumer Law. Not mentioned in the Wikipedia article* were the costs awarded against Sheffield, which I understand were much greater than the penalties imposed by the Court.
As an interesting aside, His Honour found that it was not necessary for the regulator to prove that someone had been damaged by Sheffield’s claims; ‘I do not consider that much weight can be given to the absence of proof of actual loss or damage. I am reinforced in this view by the fact that the number of persons who accessed the Website during the period when the Three Articles were published on the Website is likely to have been substantial….’ **
So health advocates should also consider the consumer protection laws that apply in their jurisdiction, as they can be far more effective. Not that regulators are toothless; the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration fined celebrity chef crank Pete Evans $25,200 for breaches of therapeutic goods legislation in relation to the promotion of his a ‘BioCharger’ scam.***
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeopathy_Plus!
** https://s3.danscomp.net/ACCC_HomeopathyPlus-ruling.pdf
*** https://www.tga.gov.au/news/media-releases/pete-evans-company-fined-alleged-covid-19-advertising-breaches
Fined AUD410,000 plus AUD30,000 in costs in 2017.
As of May 2021, when her home was raided in a “seizure and sale” operation by the Victorian state Sheriff’s Office, the debt was AUD500,000, though the article about that doesn’t say whether any assets were seized.
Still unpaid as of Feb 2025, and I couldn’t find any mention of the fine having been paid since, but also no indication of whether any further action has been taken with respect to the fine and costs.
For non-Australians: AUD500,000 is about GBP260,000, USD340,000 or EUR300,000.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/feb/13/belle-gibson-apple-cider-vinegar-netflix-star-unpaid-fines-ntwnfb
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-05-21/home-of-cancer-fraudster-belle-gibson-raided/100155744