United States of America

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20580

November 13, 2023

Via E-mail

Dr. Idrees Mughal

Dear Dr. Mughal:

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

is to protect consumers by enforcing laws and rules that promote truth 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 Instagram

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

You posted dietary advice on Instagram and TikTok endorsing the safety of aspartame.

On June 30, 2023, you posted a video to Instagram and TikTok in which you stated that

aspartame has “not been shown to cause cancer in humans” and that “a small adult would need

up to 36 cans of diet Coke every day to be at risk, so stop freaking out over headlines.” You

posted a second video to Instagram on July 13, 2023 in which you stated that, “the Joint Expert

Committee on Food Additives just confirmed right now that aspartame does not cause cancer in

humans and that it is safe,” and that, “aspartame is safe.” The posts are available as Instagram

Videos and Reels. 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 marketer of a product – in other words, a connection that might affect the

weight or credibility that consumers give the endorsement – that connection should be clearly

and conspicuously disclosed, unless the connection is already clear 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. “Clear

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

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

easily, and not have to look for it.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Idrees Mughal

November 6, 2023

Page 2

We have a number of concerns about the adequacy of your disclosures regarding your

apparent connection to the ABA.

First, the disclosures for your posts were not in the videos themselves. Viewers can

easily watch a video without reading disclosures in a post’s text description. There should be

clear and conspicuous disclosures in the videos themselves, for example, by superimposing much

larger text over the videos. In your videos, you made endorsements through both visual and

audible means, and so the disclosures should have been made both in the videos’ visual and

audible portions.

Second, you relied upon the “Paid partnership” disclosure tool in making your

disclosures. The Commission has previously expressed concerns about the conspicuousness of

such built-in disclosure tools alone. We think it is too easy for viewers to miss seeing the “Paid

partnership” disclosures in your posts. (That does not mean that you should not use such tools in

addition to other disclosures).

Third, the word “#ad” or “#AD” on your Instagram and TikTok posts of June 30 and

your TikTok post of July 13 appears in or below the fifth line of the text description of each post,

making it insufficiently conspicuous. When people view Instagram or TikTok posts, longer

descriptions are generally truncated, with only the first two or three lines displayed unless

viewers click on the text description. Any required disclosure should be presented without

having to click. We note that a TikTok or Instagram Reel post’s text description is in small print,

at the bottom of the screen, sometimes poorly contrasting, and doesn’t stand out. The

accompanying video usually has many competing elements. Therefore, we do not think that a

disclosure in the text description of such posts is clear and conspicuous.

Finally, even if viewers read the “Paid partnership” “#ad” or “#AD” disclosures in your

posts, they may be inadequate in the context of your posts because you may not have adequately

identified the sponsor of the posts. Viewers might not understand that the sponsor is promoting

the sale of aspartame or products containing it. Without knowing who the sponsor of the post is,

viewers might not be able to adequately evaluate the weight and credibility to give your

endorsement. Even the language of the “Paid partnership with ameribev” disclosures in your

Instagram posts may be inadequate, as many viewers may not understand what “ameribev” is.

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 you on notice that
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Idrees Mughal

November 6, 2023

Page 3

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, TikTok, 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