I was moderating comments over at Real-Customer-Comments.com the other day, when I came upon one with a familiar theme. It went something like this…

“Hey… how come the “feds” (the Federal Trade Commission) have targeted this company, and not any of the zillions of others out there that make equally outrageous and unsubstantiated claims?

After all, the stores are filled with hundreds of products that don’t work, and none of those products have been targeted. There must be something going on. This product must be effective if the “feds” are shutting it down.”

Now don’t get me wrong…

I understand this visitor’s skepticism. And frankly, she’s a 100% correct; there are indeed all sorts of companies that are making claims that have zero basis in fact, yet they continue to operate unhindered by the regulatory bodies. But her implication that there is some sort of vast governmental conspiracy to target ”effective” products-likely at the behest of the pharmaceutical industry-is seriously flawed.

The truth of the matter is decidedly less sinister.

And since this theme (i.e., the “governmental conspiracy”) is one I’ve encountered numerous times over the years, I thought I’d take a few minutes to deconstruct it here.

To begin with, the various regulatory bodies have taken action against a great number of companies over the years, so the implication that everyone gets away “free-and-clear” is incorrect.

Second, there are various reasons why certain companies get targeted by the FTC and other regulatory bodies while others do not. Let’s take a look at a few of them. First off consider…

1) The amount of noise a product generates.

In other words, how aggressively is the product advertised, how egregious are the claims, how many people are contacting the FTC, the local Better Business Bureau, and their local Attorney General’s office making claims about deceptive billing practices, unsubstantiated claims and so on.

In the case of the product this individual was discussing it was a lot; this product was advertised nationally, and the claims were outrageous and had no basis in fact.

In short, products that generate a lot of noise end up on the radar of the FTC and various regulatory bodies. Companies that are small and impact a smaller number of consumers have a greater chance of avoiding scrutiny.

2) The track record of the company and/or its principles.

Believe it or not, there are companies that make a business out of bamboozling customers. And once a company or one its principles has an established record of fraud, they tend to be watched a little more carefully by the various regulartory bodies (think of Kevin Trudeau!).

In the case of the product this person was referring to, one of the principles had a history of fraudulent behavior.

Of course, there are other reasons why some products are targeted; some, for instance some contain undeclared, active pharmaceutical ingredients. Others may be contaminated with pesticides or heavy metals or other chemicals – either intentionally, or unintentionally.

Regardless of the reason, I don’t know of one company that has been on the receiving end of the FTC’s wrath that did not deserve to be there. On the other hand, there’s no doubt that many other companies that should be sued and fined continue to do business unimpeded. The fact is that like many government agencies, the FTC simply does not have the resources to act against any but the worst offenders. It’s not an ideal scenario, but it is what it is. But is certainly not indicative of some vast government-pharmaceutical colloboration and conspiracy.

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