United States of America 

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION 

Washington D.C. 20580 

November 13, 2023 

Via Federal Express and E-mail 

Ms. Leslie Bonci 

Dear Ms. Bonci: 

The Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") is an independent federal agency whose mission 

is to protect consumers by enforcing laws and rnles that promote tmth in advertising and fair 

business practices, and by educating consumers and businesses about their rights and 

responsibilities. We are writing to express concerns that your marketing practices on lnstagram 

may be deceptive or unfair in violation of the FTC Act. 

You posted dietary advice on lnstagram endorsing the safety of aspaiiame. On July 14, 

2023, you posted an image to Instagram which communicated that it was safe to consume up to 

75 sweetener packets of aspaiiame per day. In the text description of the post, you stated 

"WHO/JECF A - the appropriate body to make an infmmed public health decision about 

aspartame because it is a food safety agency - concluded that aspa1iame is safe .... Aspaiiame 

and other sweeteners can be a solution for those who want the taste of sweet without the sugai·." 

It appears that you were paid by the American Beverage Association ("ABA") to make those 

posts. 

The FTC's Endorsement Guides state that if there is a "material connection" between an 

endorser and the mai·keter of a product - in other words, a connection that might affect the 

weight or credibility that consumers give the endorsement - that connection should be cleai·ly 

and conspicuously disclosed, unless the connection is already cleai· from the context of the 

communication containing the endorsement. Material connections could consist of a business or 

family relationship, monetary payment, or the provision of free products to the endorser. "Cleai· 

and conspicuous" means that a disclosure is difficult to miss (i.e. easily noticeable) and easily 

understandable by ordinaiy consumers. Consumers should be able to notice the disclosure 

easily, and not have to look for it. 
 

 

QA\.&\__ VI ~~ 

Ms. Leslie Bonci

November 6, 2023

Page 2 

We have concerns about the adequacy of your disclosures regarding your apparent

connection to the ABA. Although you used the disclaimer “#client,” we believe that this

disclosure is ambiguous and inadequate.

I am enclosing the Federal Trade Commission’s Notice of Penalty Offenses Concerning 

Deceptive or Unfair Conduct around Endorsements and Testimonials. The notice of penalty 

offenses consists of Commission determinations in prior litigated cases that certain practices are

deceptive or unfair and are unlawful under Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act. As

set forth in more detail in the notice, these acts and practices include failing to disclose a

connection between an endorser and the seller of an advertised product or service, if such a

connection might materially affect the weight or credibility of the endorsement and if the

connection would not be reasonably expected by consumers. Copies of the case decisions

discussed in the notice are available on the Commission’s website at www.ftc.gov/endorsementnotice-penalty-offenses. In addition, receipt of the enclosed notice puts your company on

notice that engaging in conduct described therein could subject you to civil penalties of up

to $50,120 per violation.1

We strongly urge you to review your Instagram and other social media posts as to 

whether they contain sufficiently clear and conspicuous disclosures of any material

connections. To help guide your review, please see the Endorsement Guides2

 and the staff

publication FTC’s Endorsement Guides: What People Are Asking.3

 Violations of the FTC Act

may result in legal action seeking a federal district court injunction or an administrative cease

and desist order. 

Please notify Cassandra Rasmussen via electronic mail at crasmussen@ftc.gov within 

fifteen working days of receipt of this letter of the specific actions you have taken or will be

taking to address FTC staff’s concerns. If you have any questions regarding compliance with the

FTC Act, please contact Ms. Rasmussen by email or at 202-684-0175.

Very truly yours,

Serena Viswanathan

Associate Director

Division of Advertising Practices

Enclosure

1 See 15 U.S.C. § 45(m)(1)(B).

2 See 16 C.F.R. § 255 (Jul. 26, 2023), https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/chapter-I/subchapterB/part-255. 3 FTC’s Endorsement Guides: What People Are Asking, https://www.ftc.gov/businessguidance/resources/ftcs-endorsement-guides-what-people-are-asking. 
Notice of Penalty Offenses Concerning Deceptive or Unfair Conduct around 

Endorsements and Testimonials 

The Federal Trade Commission has determined that the following acts or practices in the 

use of endorsements and testimonials are deceptive or unfair and are unlawful under Section 5 of 

the Federal Trade Commission Act. 

2 

3 

4 

5 

• It is an unfair or deceptive trade practice to make claims which represent, expressly or 

by implication, that a third party has endorsed a product or its performance when such 

third party has not in fact endorsed such product or its performance. 1 

• It is an unfair or deceptive trade practice for an advertiser to misrepresent that an 

endorsement represents the experience, views, or opinions of users or purported users 

of the product. 2 

• It is an unfair or deceptive trade practice to misrepresent an endorser as an actual 

user, a current user, or a recent user of a product or service. 3 

• It is an unfair or deceptive trade practice for an advertiser to continue to advertise an 

endorsement unless the advertiser has good reason to believe that the endorser 

continues to subscribe to the views presented in the endorsement. 4 

• It is an unfair or deceptive trade practice for an advertiser to use testimonials to make 

unsubstantiated or otherwise deceptive performance claims even if such testimonials 

are genuine. 5 

• It is an unfair or deceptive trade practice to fail to disclose a connection between an 

endorser and the seller of an advertised product or service, if such a connection might 

materially affect the weight or credibility of the endorsement and if the connection 

would not be reasonably expected by consumers. 6 

• It is an unfair or deceptive trade practice to misrepresent explicitly or implicitly 

through the use of testimonials that the experience described by endorsers of a 

product or service represents the typical or ordinary experience of users of the 

product or service. 7 

, 57 F.T.C. 717 (1960); 

, 38 F.T.C. 1 (1944); 

, 46 F.T.C. 706 (1950). 

, 103 F.T.C. 110 (1984). 

, 82 F.T.C. 488 (1973). 

, 48 F.T.C. 800 (1952); 

, 33 F.T.C. 662 (1941). 

, 103 F.T.C. 110; , 96 F.T.C. 208 (1980); 

90 F.T.C. 770 (1977), , 605 F.2d 294 (7th Cir. 1979). 

6 , 103 F.T.C. 110. 

1 , 90 F.T.C. 770; , 82 F.T.C. 488 (1973), 85 

F.T.C. 1052 (1975). 

Mytinger & Casselberry, Inc. Ar-Ex Cosms., Inc. A. P. 

W. Paper Co., Inc. Wilbert W. Haase Co., Inc.

R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.

Id. Cliffdale Assocs., Inc.

Nat’l Dynamics Corp.

Cliffdale Assocs., Inc. Macmillan, Inc. Porter & Dietsch, Inc.

aff’d

Cliffdale Assocs., Inc.

Id.; Porter & Dietsch, Inc. Nat’l Dynamics Corp. modified at