leveraging the anti-obama sentiment in his state. it is a reminder. he has his own anchor he has to deal with and the eric cantor thing is a reminder of how an opponent can crystallize perception, that anti-congress perception, and wrap it around one person. >> we have been talking about that. i'm sure it is a favorite topic. what you extrapolate from the cantor defeat? >> let me help you out. it is confusing. you look at bill. you see his tie. you say, he must be the democrat. i have the conservative tie. i must be republican. i am the democrat, to straighten that out. let me start out with cancer or any incumbent who loses a

primary. they lose. one of three reasons. they are old. they lose because of scandal. they lose because they become out of touch. that is what happened in this situation. this is what we're seeing in the nbc-wall street journal poll. given a choice, 60% of the american public would pull a lover that would take every single member of congress out, including their own. opportunity orat an independent on the ballot, you would get one in for voting for the independent. -- four voting for the independent. the american public is looking for a way to get rid of these guys. they hate washington.

eric cantor is an easy point that was there. mitch mcconnell has never been loved in kentucky. challengebably has a that cantor had. >> i am not a pollster. they are. we are going to poll you. this is the first audience response question. how would you respond the military and economic future? want toese lines, i talk about one of the most basic numbers that these guys have. is the country on the right track or the wrong track? a historic crossing became a2004, when we "wrong track" nation.

it has stayed that way ever since. a few dips here or there. a pretty large margin. are we pretty much a "wrong --ck those quote nation "wrong track" nation? no longer convinced that america is the leading power in the world. we are no longer convinced that we have a better future. it is a big deal. hadd have write your -- we "right direction" go up after 9/11. we are a long way away from feeling good economically. of "wrong track" will continue.

it will take a sustained economic recovery to get people back on track. or, some terrible episode that triggers the american pride reaction. we are quite a long away away from having a strong economic recovery that gets this country feeling good again. numbers about the next generation being worse off than ourselves, that is a real sc ar and a change from the core belief of the american public, generally. for 13 generations, we have handed the baton for it and believe that the next generation would be better off. in our first time history, we believe that the next generation is worse off. the plurality is in that neighborhood.

the second thing is, we asked a question that goes back to 1995. looking a generation ahead, economically, which country around the world will be the best off? we had the united states, china, japan. game, 54%age of the of the american public said that the united states would be best off and 3% said china. ago -- did it a year or a year or so ago, china was up. economically and psychologically , we see tougher times ahead, rather than blue skies. >> you can see the results of the poll. they are quite interesting. only 16% think that our best days are behind us. a lot of ambivalence. >> on behalf of the audience.

>> the jury is still out. let's talk a little bit about november. about november. we have seen some interesting elections and big changes have come to washington that washed whole bunch of people out of the house in the senate to bring an air hole bunch of new people and change control. wholesee -- bring in a bunch of new people and change control. do we see anything like that? >> there are clear signals. we do not have those. a strong republican year. they are going to pick up seats and the house and the senate could easily turn to the republicans. -- the kind of19 1994 year, i don't see that.

they are too unhappy with everybody. the strategy for the republicans in the senate was to lose every election in 2008. the secret strategy for the democrats in 2016 is that they lost every senate seat in 2010. people have not talked about it. >> before i get to you, peter, let's go to the next response question. it points to this. the federal government is a bad, for good, a force for all of the above. these questions are probably not your standard. -- alongyour lines your lines, no matter what happens, will anything be markedly different next year,

when these people, whoever they are, come into congress. or, will we be looking at something similar to what we have now? >> it will not be uplifting. it will not galvanize us in a positive way. election night will be a one-story collection. -- election. can the republicans return the senate to their majority? red states where democrats are retiring or the incumbents are , if republicans do well there, they are in good shape. whereve blue states democrats are defending and are in tough races. there are a lot of opportunities.

mississippi is interesting. if thad cochran loses, it is a a partyty victory. -- te victory. let' >> let's talk about a guy who has not come up, so far. barack obama. what does it look like for him? >> i think the president is, in so many ways, not in the picture. i do not think he is particularly a factual and it is under-recognized what little standing he has. with thers are low american public. this happens with incumbents. we had benghazi, the v.a. scandal.

itry after story that make difficult for him to talk about anything else. when republicans pick up seats in the house or control the senate, it will be very exposed. military dramatic intervention or some episode, he is in a difficult position. having said that, you can never underestimate the power of the american presidency. at the end of the term, there tends to be a little bit of a lift and people try to put him in a historic perspective. theing some huge episode, force of his presidency has dissipated. >> two points i would have to make. i would love to be a democrat and be a huge cheerleader.

reality strikes in this case. the events are controlling him. rather than him control in the events. you talk about all of the things that bill mentioned and you add iraq, andaine, everything that is happening. himy event is controlling . we have been doing something. we are looking at how people feel about him personally and professionally. when he entered his second term, he had the wind at his back. way more people were thinking that -- they were applauding his personal and professional rating. at this stage of the game, it has turned around. on a personal basis, he no longer has the same strength that he had.

people say that they love him and respect him. at this stage of the game, the president has to reestablish himself. it leads to the other thing. hillary clinton is out there. story anda whole new makes it harder for the president. >> i want to play a game. god created the world in six days and you will create the ideal democratic and republican candidates in five minutes and 30 seconds. of clay. have a mount you can create the ideal candidate for 2016. i'm not talking about a name. i want to to formulate what the person looks like. >> i want to be bound by reality. the democrats carried 18 states for 24 years in a row.

dash, you are at the 80 yard line. number one, i would love to have someone from one of the states. you need to disrupt the map. i desperately would like -- and , a lot ofy the way -- not fromenators washington dc. -- washington, d.c. i want them to accomplish what -- talk about what they accomplished in their state. is, presidentg obama said that he would break the red-blue division. that is not a promise that was cap and it is not what happened. and it is not what

happened. people are tired. would try toidate find a way to tap into that sentiment and demonstrate some tock record and the capacity work across the aisle to get things done. fieryentrist or a ?nti-crony capitalism populist >> when ralph nader has become good friends with grover and he is writing a book about the left-right continuum against corporate power, that is something we need to understand. part of the bases with cantor was the bailout vote. with cantor was the

bailout vote. here's the other thing with the republican party, every primary -- there is a woman who tracks every single political ad -- people are running anti-obamacare spots. youhave to demonstrate that are going to stop the obama agenda. minutes to two create the ideal democratic candidate. >> i would like someone with the experience of hillary clinton. the charisma of the clinton. the oratory skills -- the charisma of bill clinton. the oratory skills of barack obama. importantly, an economic program that shows the potential for growth and a sense that you can work with business

and across into the democratic lines. the point that bill made is the most important one. the democrats have carried a slew of states. 90% of what is needed. any democrat has to be able to continue to do exceptionally well with minorities, young people, and women. democrats have a major advantage. party findspublican a way to reach those voters, either through immigration or of the choice issue. you have to break through. it cannot be the old republican party. >> does this person have a dollop of elizabeth warren in them? >> a small dollop.

thingy point of view, the that you have to understand about elizabeth warren is w -- bill was just saying there is very little confidence in the business community. all of those elements. the public is looking for a way to balance that. that is the thing that is working for elizabeth warren. >> name a state that will go red in 2016? >> iowa. i think iowa. >> iowa. what will be a state that will go blue? >> georgia. >> georgia. before texas? >> texas will be reliably blue. it will take another generation.

>> georgia, sooner than that? >> yes. >> questions from the audience? the inability of the current two-party system to effectively compromise create an opening for the introduction of a third party? >> it never does. i have beenill and on a jag together. the american public is so unhappy. give them an alternative and they will go for it. that, ify believe there was space on the ballot voters,d -- for the coalition," iom want them all out, people would

punch it. the potentiality is there. i do not have the name or the way that it comes together. there is a lot more togetherness between the right and the left. >> we have one more question. >> are we publishing this? >> publishing the responses? them. tweeting when it comes to the recovery, the federal government did what? >third-party. >> i liked the ideal candidate. that sounded exceptional. the idea that there are not ideal ceos.

these are real people and we pick that person. to nominates need someone to the left of hillary clinton. there ishat happened, room in the middle. and theier is money internet is replacing that barrier. what there has not been is a candidate. saying, and 2011, look at these numbers. someone should run in the middle of this. if it is hillary clinton and mccain or romney, the parties suck the middle out. , if you ask people if they would vote for an independent third party, the answer is a third, a third, and a third.

back, ross perot, if she , that woulda party have had fundamental impacts and thed have forestalled republicans winning the congress. perot votes.d the jibes with how that what would happen if we asked 1000 americans. >> the other way american works is, the democrat party drifts and people pulled him back. , andepublican party drifts people pulled him back.

-- and people pull them back. there is a governing instinct in this country that is pretty powerful. >> anybody else? ipad.r question from the great. >> what are the chances that we have a woman president in the next election? that is a question for both of you. >> well, there is only one answer, hillary clinton. can she win? of course you can. -- of course she can. a tremendousf with advantage and the last persian and will had as big of an advantage in the election year -- the last person who had as

big of an advantage in the election year was at muskie -- ed muskie. she has a tremendous advantage with younger voters and will have an advantage with my authority voters. all of those are key to the core of the democratic party. the one question we will be looking at is, people seeing her as competence. it goes back to the barack obama quote stop issue likable enough -- the barack obama quote. is she likable enough? it will be interesting to see those numbers. >> the next question is for both of you. can we get the air conditioning turned down in here? it is freezing. is that the consensus? >> we are glad that we stimulated you.

ceo --here a fortune 100 this must be somebody tried to get a little bit of free polling -- who has the fortitude to run for the presidential office? >> no. i have a funny story. doing -- for john mccain since 1992. i love the guy. we had a high-level woman surrogate. so, the campaign manager called late woman surrogate. -- called the woman surrogate. what ceos do and what you do to govern our massively different -- are massively different.

it is very hard to be a candidate. the average ceo, despite their extraordinary gifts, are not good at the give and take that politics requires and negotiating with equals. -- and, again -- what did he do? he spent all of world war ii being a negotiator to get something done. he wrote thatday, thing. all fail, i take responsibility. that is a powerful story that few people get. >> do you have a perspective on term limits? >> yeah. i do. terrible idea. i will tell you why. the theory is, that gives us

turnover and that will help. the fact of the matter is, you would not do any business. if you have a good leader, you want the good leader to stay in and if you have a bad leader, you want to be able to get them out. it gives the lobbyists all the power in washington and it would be a terrible idea. >> i agree. half of the congress was elected during the obama era. the tracking for speaker gingrich and i can tell you what happens during a government shutdown. there were very few people left in the house republican caucus done,d term limits been it would have given more power to the unelected. >> i have a question. business feels shut out of washington over the last several years and alienated at various

times. vilified by washington. sentimentchange, the and engagement of business? is that shifting? will we see more of the same? >> i would say that the biggest problem is confidence. andhis stage of the game, we measured it in a whole ently,ly, -- poll rec they are around 17% or 18%. they were at 14%. when it comes to financial institutions, it is down in single digits. business is not listened to. the american public would say that business is not listening to us. >> any thoughts on that?

>> that is a good answer. >> please join me in thanking our panel. mary will testify about the investigation of the ignition switch problems and the recall. there is a recall of an additional 3 million cars. you can join the conversation on facebook and twitter. and, watch live coverage on c-span 3. foreign the day, affairs panels will investigate exchangesion to d guantanamo detainees. a special forces captured suspect in the september 2012

attack in libya that killed chris stevens and three other americans. president obama spoke about the capture. >> with the press here, i want to make a quick comment on some news of the day that some of you may have heard. we are all aware of the tragedy in benghazi. for americans, including our ambassador, was killed following the attack on a consulate there. my commitment was to bring to justice those who were responsible. our special forces, showing incredible courage and precision, were able to capture who is alleged to

have been one of the masterminds of the attack. --is he is now being transported back to the united states. we continue to think about and pray for the families of those who were killed during that terrible attack. more importantly, it is important for us to send a message to the world. when americans are attacked, no matter how long it takes, we will find those responsible and bring them to justice. sent the daysage i after it happened. regardless of how long it takes, we will find you. i want to make sure that everybody around the world hears that message very clearly. duty as and most solemn president and commander-in-chief is to keep the american people

safe. there are a lot of dangers out there and a lot of challenges. our diplomats serve with incredible courage and valor in some very difficult situations. they need to know that this and willas their back always go after anybody who goes after us. >> coming up, physician and television host dr. oz takes questions from lawmakers about weight loss products. congressmanocratic chris van hollen and ohio republican senator rob portman outline their budget priorities. >> former iraq administrator paul bremer wrote in the wall street journal recently about the possibility of sending more u.s. troops to iraq. he will join us on the next washington journal. we will talk to congresswoman loretta sanchez about u.s. options in iraq.

she serves on the house homeland security committee. steven levy of wired magazine on his piece about recent changes at the healthcare.gov website. you can join the conversation on facebook, twitter and by phone. >> the thesis of the book is that there is a whole group of people in america that is being ignored, left behind, not included in the discussion. argue thely, i would republican party. blue-collar conservatives, the folks out there who are working people, most of them don't have college degrees, folks that really still understand the value and importance of work and responsibility.

they understand the importance of family and faith. they believe in freedom and limited government. those are conservative republican voters and in many cases they are not. a lot of them aren't voting at all because they don't see either party talking to them about the concerns they have and an opportunitye for them to live the dream. >> rick santorum argues that working americans have been abandoned by both political parties and offers conservative answers to their problems. saturday night at 10:00 eastern, part of book tv on c-span 2. this month, we are discussing the forgotten man, a new history of the great depression. start reading and join our chat room at "book tv.org. >> television host dr. oz faced questions from a senate panel about weight loss products.

since 2010, the ftc has collected almost $107 million in restitution from companies for deceptive advertising about weight loss products and services. senator claire mccaskill chairs this senate subcommittee hearing. host dr. oz faced questions from a television -- a panel about weight loss product. since 2010, the ftc collected almost $107 million in restitution from companies for deceptive advertising about weight loss products and services. claire mccaskill chairs the senate subcommittee hearing on consumer protection. >> we will take opening statements and then moved to your testimony. this hearing will now come to order. we have all heard and seen the

ads promising quick and substantial weight loss if only you take this tale, drink this shake, use this device, apply this cream. all without adjusting diet or increasing physical activity. it seems too good to be true and, of course, it is. we have a short clip of some of onse ads that have run television, satellite radio, online and in print so i will place so that it's clear what we are talking about today. >> it is called sensa. to take theit on weight off whether you need to lose 10, 50, or more, now you can without dieting. simply sprinkle sensa on, eat all the foods you love, and watch the pounds come off. it's that easy. you lose weight faster and easier than you've ever dreamed possible. >> i lost over 120 pounds with

sensa. >> you may think it's magic or make-believe, but this has scientist saying they have found a magic weight loss cure for everyone. it is green coffee beans. when turned into a supplement, this miracle pill can burn fat fast for anyone who wants to lose weight. this is breaking news. >> millions of you love coffee, but now you will love it or a whole another reason. releaseding newly study reveals that the coffee bean and its purest form may hold a secret to weight loss that you've been waiting for. ais study presented at meeting of the world's largest scientific society triggered unprecedented excitement for a weight loss study showing women

and men who took green coffee extract lost an astounding amount of fat and weighed, 17 pounds in 22 weeks by doing absolutely nothing extra in their day. a magic weight loss being to help melt away unwanted pounds you've been waiting for. >> we also had a satellite radio ad we were going to lay. there it touring their instincts -- they are ignoring their instincts. more than one third of american adults are obese and 70% are either obese or overweight. this familiar story of the obesity epidemic is further

colored by surveys finding the desire of americans to lose weight but consistently failing to put in the effort to do so. adults wanted to lose weight while just 25% said they were serious and working towards that goal. this mismatch between americans stated desire to shed weight and the lack of serious effort can perhaps explain the growth of the u.s. weight loss industry as well as the proliferation of deceptive advertising for weight loss products. the ftc filed its first case claimed in the true romance

magazine that "excess fat is literally dissolved away leaving the figure slim man properly rounded giving light grace to the body every man and woman desires." since 1927, more than two and a 50 cases have been filed challenging false and unproven weight-loss claims including just this year, four settlements announced in january and last month, a complaint filed in federal court against the sellers of a green coffee dietary supplement. more than one in 10 submitted are in fact for weight loss product. the problem is much larger than any enforcement agency could possibly tackle on its own. thatholders, companies sell weight loss products, media outlets, other advertising that forms as well as consumer watchdogs must all do their part to help address the problem. they serve as a critical date he

for that are well-positioned to keep false and a set of advertising for reaching consumers. orgppreciate trustinads. which represents some of the largest platforms being here today to discuss the recent report on this issue, the challenges online companies face in addressing false and deceptive advertising and what more they can do. in preparing for this hearing, my staff reached out to a variety of media companies across all mediums to better inerstand industry practices screening and monitoring advertising. i find it troubling that broadcast and satellite radio witnesses who were asked to be here were unwilling to appear. this indicates a there is either something to hide or they don't have a good story to tell. either way, we will not be effective until all stakeholders take it seriously. any otherrtually industry, there are good and bad actors. we will hear from the council of

, a tradele nutrition organization, and the better business bureau self-regulatory council on efforts to police itself. we will also hear from dr. mehme t oz. he is a medical doctor and a host of a very popular daytime show that frequently airs segments on weight loss issues and product and is quick frequently -- and is frequently cited in the marketing of weight loss products. i will have tough questions for you today, intentional or not, in perpetuating these scams. it creates what has been known as the cause of act, dramatically boosting sales and driving scam artist to pop up overnight using false and deceptive ads. while i understand your message is also focused on basics like healthy eating and exercise, i'm concerned you are melding medical advice, news, and

entertainment in a way that harms consumers. this subcommittee has looked at a number of scams. cases, theyr resulted in financial losses, which can certainly be devastating, but what makes these really stand out as they not only result in financial losses but they can potentially put a consumer's health at risk. i hope to hear suggestions about how we can better empower what morewith stakeholders can and should be doing to keep all standard set of ads from reaching consumers in the first place. i look or word from hearing from all of our witnesses and i thank you all for being here.

it's no surprise the market is .uite significant i can understand the appeal these products have for many who are attempting to improve their health and lifestyles. that most ofany these are legitimate making substantiated representation about health benefits and other claims, but unlike any other marketplace, there are bad that erroneousmake widely claims about questionable products. there are also fraudsters and those who seize upon dieting scams to harm members. personally would be suspect of a magic weight loss cure or a miracle pill. that being said, i can understand how a person may question their own assumptions when a person who they believe

has credibility on the issue makes a claim about any particular product. that's why am pleased we are joined by the associate director for the division of advertising practices within the ftc bureau of consumer protection. i applaud the work to shut down the scam artists and i look forward to learning more about the commission's success in bringing a series of cases under the agencies existing section 5 authority against a number of companies engaged in deceptive advertising of weight loss products. i also looked forward to how they are applying be basis standard for claims. including weight loss and whether it considers it to be reliable evidence to back certain claims. the standard has traditionally been a flexible one, it's no secret that i have looked for more stringent requirements. it's an open question as to whom

these new substantiation requirements are meant to applaud or if they are following their own procedures and requirements and whether this standard is consistent with constitutional protection of free speech. i would also like to welcome dr. oz. show" debuted in 2009 and reaches roughly 3 million viewers daily. i will want to know what steps he takes to provide accurate claims. he does not endorse particular product and he has been the subject of unscrupulous entities using his image and advertising without his permission. much has been written about the so-called black or oz effect. demand for ingredients bike after they are featured on his show -- about the so-called dr. oz effect. rose 12,000%pots

after his show. it is this popularity that may have influenced a florida-based company to enter the market in green coffee bean extraction, something he referred to as a miracle pill that can burn fat fast. this company is now the subject of action brought hide the ftc that is currently pending in federal district court for unfair and he said it claims with regards to this product. i would also like to welcome our other witnesses from the better business bureau, the council for responsible attrition, mr. rob andelson from trust in ads from the natural products association, i thanked all of you for being here today. thank you again, madam chair, for holding this hearing. i look forward to testimony and answers to some of our questions.

>> i think my calling did a great job of introducing everyone smiley do this quickly. the us is the director for the division of advertising practices bureau of consumer protection at the consumer protection. oz and host of the dock or oz show. dan the ceo of advertising self-regulatory council, council of better business bureau of new york. mister or meister? council for responsible nutrition based here in washington. executive director of trust in daniel,dock your national products association. we will begin with your testimony. will have you on a clock,

which i'm sure you understand. i know you understand about the clock, but we are not strict about that. if you feel the need to go over, we don't have a problem. the entirety of any written testimony will be included in the official record. welcome. >> good morning. madam chair and members of the committee, i'm the associate director for advertising practices at the federal trade commission. i'm pleased to have this opportunity to regard information to combat fraudulent weight-loss advertising. as you know, the united date is facing an obesity epidemic. nearly 70% of american adults are overweight or obese. they are contributors to chronic diseases and health care cost and present a serious health care challenge. it is not surprising there is strong interest in products that lame to promote weight loss. where there is strong consumer interest, fraud often follows.

in the 2011 survey of consumer fraud, we found more consumers were victims of fraudulent weight-loss products than of any of the other specific frauds we survey. the foundation is to eat a healthy, calorie controlled diet and increase activity. promoting easy weight loss without changes to lifestyle the turk and soon was from making these tough but necessary changes. filed its first weight-loss case way back in 1927 and we have filed another 250 challenging false and unproven weight-loss claims. in the past 10 years, the commission has brought 82 law enforcement actions challenging false or unsubstantiated claims

about the effectiveness of a wide variety of weight loss products and services. the commission has collected nearly 100 $7 million in consumer restitution for the weight-loss claims. our recent cases highlight how the agency have focused enforcement are your days on large national advertising campaigns for a creative range of weight-loss product with unproven benefits. operation failed resolution announced after the new year targeted the newest weight loss had with ocular ingredients, food additives, human hormones, skin creams. and one failed resolution case, consumers were urged to shake 90 poundslose 30, 40, or more without diet or exercise. in another, the cream is touted as having body slimming capabilities that could trim in weeks. consumers with a taste for rare might try liquid homeopathic hcg

drops to lose a pound per day. each of these resulted in a settlement with the ftc and they were ordered to back any future weight-loss claims of love conducted human clinical studies. despite this long history of ftc enforcement, weight loss fraud persists because this is an area where consumers are particularly vulnerable to fraud and there is an enormous amount of money to be made. people intent on committing fraud will gravitate toward the money is. we have noted disturbing developments with respect to weight loss advertising. the reliance on erroneous or fabricated data. this was true in our case against sent some in the earlier case involving skectcher's toning shoes. endorsed fads.

shows how these marketers of the peer green coffee dietary supplement capitalized on dr. oz happening featured it on his show and calling it magic and a miracle. productsumers see praised by host they trust, it can be difficult for them to listen to the internal voice telling them to beware. long soughtwe have the partnership of the media to screen deceptive ads before they run. our recently issued gut check guide sent to media outlets advises the media on seven weight-loss claims that experts say template cannot be true and the media should think twice about before running.

today, we launched a new online interactive quiz. i want to thank the committee for focusing attention on scams and giving the ftc the ability to describe its role. we will continue our efforts to pursue the perpetrators, work with the media to help prevent fraudulent ads from running and educate consumers that trust the gut instinct to be a strong mechanism. thank you and i would be happy to respond to any questions. >> thank you. dr. oz. >> thank you, members of the committee, for convening this hearing and for allowing me to test i've. consumer scams and frauds have plagued me since i first started in media long before my talk show in 2009. and moneynt time trying to prevent in the problem has only increased exponentially. i'm encouraged the senate has

decided to prioritize this criminal enterprise and believe the contributions of other witnesses will help together with collective brainpower doused the flames of this uncontrolled wildfire in the interest of protecting the consumer. after he finished training in thomas iut a decade practice cardiothoracic surgery at columbia university. i've performed thousands of surgeries on patients who had been ravaged by obesity. we needed to better educate people on how to take better care and i went into public life and effort to teach. i started as a guest on the oprah winfrey show and had first experiences with spam advertising at that time. there was not anything special about my description of them but comingmediately had ads up using pictures of us claiming that we were supporting these products and selling them. a civil suit against the companies making these ads

despite the expense and law enforcement operation, it had very little impact. this has grown dramatically in sophistication and scale and i'm forced to defend my reputation every single day. they take money from trusting viewers, many believe i'm selling the items. i have never sold supplements. out of sheer frustration, i have taken a number of measures to protect my viewers. i accept responsibility that the passionate language i used to describe supplements is fodder for these advertising in my show is editorial. we have been more stringent and presenting opportunities and have had opposing voices. this has had no discernible impact and they can still select a single phrase without this context and continue profiting unimpeded. the clip at you showed and others similar, i will always mention about the fact that these are designed for short-term support and you will

not get there without diet and exercise. i have devoted numerous shows to cover the anatomy of a scam. i've launched a campaign called its not me and used media partners to show the coverage. the last thing i say to the viewer and tell them is i don't sell anything and if they see my name or picture involved in an advertisement, don't buy it. you will see me saying it at the very end. we also created a way for viewers to report violations and scams. had 35,000 complaints and we hired a private company to police the web and has issued more than 600 cc and assist letters. desist. and the onlywere using my name but providing a 10% of the active

ingredient. whether it works or not is a separate issue if the product is not in it. last night i went online and i was till able to purchase this product if i wanted to. it's a shameless series of perpetrators we are dealing with. i do believe that working together will achieve a lot more. before offering any suggestions, let me address the criticism that my show may be fueling the problem. i am respectful of these criticisms and i encourage a nation searching for answers to their health woes. it affects about two thirds of the population and the only lessge i gave was to eat and move more. we would not be very effect did the challenge this because viewers know these tips and they still struggle so we search for tools and crutches for people to jump start their programs. these are commonly used in other countries and other parts of the

world or traditional chinese media. we use cleanses by promising offers. many of these are controversial. i would rather have a conversation on this material on my stage than in back alleys. it's a conversation we are still having especially for you can give them the boost. today is not a referendum on complementary medicine and we're not here to decide if vitamins or supplements make sense. internet scams and fraud will begin to end even with those with jurisdiction amplified enforcement with a public-private effort encouraged including everyone on this panel in front of us including legitimate product manufacturers and media outlets like mine. i feel passionate about doing this and i want to play a role. i will not cover suggestions, but i would like to offer some thoughts later on about how we can create a registry to

incentivize whistleblowers and maybe create a private-sector funded bounty to help with this very challenging task. >> i appreciate the opportunity to testify on the ongoing work of the advertising industry self-regulatory system, particularly as it applies to weight-loss advertising. it is comprehensive and it applies to all national advertisers in all media. it is transparent. all decisions are publicly reported. companies that do not participate in the process or do not follow the recommendations

are publicly referred to the appropriate government agency, usually the federal trade commission. we work on a case-by-case basis monitoring questionable claims and practices and we apply ftc-type standards to those claims. each year we issue almost 200 decisions on a wide variety of issues including about one dozen last year that addressed advertising of weight-loss claims that required the companies to stop or modify the ads in question. self-regulatory claims for weight-loss products include technical, easy to remedy disclosure questions to questions about the ability -- the validity of underlying studies. for garciniacision cambogia that it had aided with four times weight-loss and

exercise. how to lose 28 pounds and one month with the healing cleanses recommended by dr. oz. resulted in specific studies support for the weight-loss claims. the advertiser told us the special report but i referred to earlier was posted by an unauthorized third party and the advertiser immediately took steps to take the report off the internet. we determine the remaining specific product performance claims should be discontinued in their current form. the advertiser fully cooperated with the review and agreed to discontinue the claims as to about 90% of the companies who participate in the process. we had a very similar case with one of the other ingredients popular in this area, raspberry ketones. our casework complements that of the better bureau system and protecting consumers.

we handle hundreds of review cases including claims associated with weight off products and services. to resolve claims about business practices that are uniquely positioned to identify local and national scams as they emerge and warn consumers about them. we are a major outlet for the educational material they described because we have over 100 better business bureaus located across the country. last year, better business euros handled hundreds of complaints about weight loss products and services including a growing number about weight loss clinic. often find they are also assumes you did with rob maddock billing practices and autoship programs underscoring the adage that misleading claims frequently lighten only the consumer's wallet. these are consistent with those observed by st. louis bbb except

that the st. louis bbb has not seen the rise in the number of ads in that particular jurisdiction. self-regulation works only if it has the support of the industry and the government. two associations in particular, the electronic retailing association, and the council for responsible nutrition, have stepped forward to provide the types of no strings attached funding that allows us to do our impartial monitoring and decision-making work. although there is no formal , decades of support by the federal trade commission have been absolutely critical in the success of the process. although there have been significant efforts by federal and state government to control and substantiate exaggerated claims, more can be done,

obviously. one thing i think everyone agrees on is the type of state and federal enforcement actions the ftc have been bringing our thiscal to controlling type of advertising. in addition, trade associations whose members include weight-loss industries need to follow the example set by the electronic retail association and the council for responsible attrition and step up in monitoring the marketplace. it's good for business and consumers. renewed effort to enlist consistent support of the media in guarding against the most egregious types of claims is a key step. run casters have fairly sophisticated processes for network ads. similarly, google has introduced a new approach to add screening tailored to that specific new media. there are lots of other media outlets, independent channels,

cable television, satellite radio, and radio that are not doing as much. if i took the product i would never have to diet again. the return address was for a po box. was a regulatory trifecta. a spam e-mail for a red flag claim no one can substantiate with a seller no one could find. thank you. mr. mister. mike's i'm the president and ceo of the council for responsible nutrition. -- >> i'm the president and ceo

for the council responsible nutrition. we empathize with the many americans vulnerable to false promises for losing weight fast with everything i am bracelets, sprays, creams, exercise gadgets, dietary supplements. collectively, americans spend or the billion dollars a year to lose weight. dietary supplements and meal replacements are 5.3 billion dollar per year industry, a small fraction of the total but a significant part. we want to be clear there are a number of dietary ingredients used in weight-loss supplements when combined with moderate exercise and sensible eating that have been shown and well conducted clinical trials to be safe and beneficial for weight management. this requires that all supplements must have substantiation for their claims

including claims of weight-loss. fda regulation for labeling established a detailed approach adequateconstitutes substantiation which requires of the claims be supported by well and human trials with statistically significant benefits. along with consumers who are due by these false and misleading claims, the responsible supplement industry who complies whenstands to lose unscrupulous marketers take advantage of misleading ads. i'm here today to reinforce the members toof crn's address these scams and frauds in the marketplace. the reality is that it is a tale of two industries, legitimate manufacturers who responsibly produce products that work and make claims within the bounds of the law and on the other hand the unscrupulous players who and on consumer desperation the insatiable desire to be thin and will take anything to make a

quick profit. crn has publicly supported and will continue to applaud the numerous enforcement actions brought by the ftc in recent years and the more than $438 million in restitution and civil penalties assessed against the sect of advertising with respect to weight loss product since 2004. line and morest recently failed resolution and its media awareness campaigns help removeck misleading claims, but they also alert the public while sending a message of deterrence through the industry. we applaud them for that. agever, in this internet along with the proliferation of cable television, talk radio, online media, and the increasing

pressure for print revenue, there is insufficient resources to combat the number of the sub claims in the market. eager toa outlets accept advertising dollars will turn a blind eye to advertising copy that clearly violates the law and deceives consumers. crn began a self-regulatory program to help self police the advertising claims of dietary supplement marketers. crn has committed over $2 million to underwrite this program which is already investigated 200 challenges of the claims made by supplement marketers. i'm proud of the track record of for achieving a high rate of industry participation and for the precedent it sets with these decisions to determine others from making similarly fraudulent

claims. crn members are committed to safe product and ensure that they receive true, accurate information on these products. we believe the challenge for legitimate weight-loss product americanially this -- consumers unrealistically yearned for a magic bullet and unscrupulous marketers will take advantage of this with promises. like a successful weight loss program, the solution is not easy. significant or step should include increasing resources and priorities for enforcement of the existing legal requirements by both the df tc-- the ftc and fda. calling on media outlets and online retailers to conduct their own advertising clearance before accepting ads with claims that are illegally and simply too good to be true and finally

educating consumers to be realistic about their weight-loss strategies and expectations to make them less vulnerable to a and unsupported claims. thank you for the opportunity to share our views with the committee. [no audio] >> chairman mccaskill, ranking member heller, distinguished members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify about trust in ad's these. to combat i will testify how member companies are incentivized to keep dad ads out of our system. i will also note how there's investing and have already removed bad ads from the service. facebook, google, yahoo!, and twitter.

we want to protect people from malicious online ads and a set of practices. we are bringing awareness about online ad related scams working collaboratively to identifying trends in deceptive ads and best actresses, sharing your knowledge with policy makers and consumer advocates around the country. s.org as the regular release of what we call the bad consumers alert, friendly and easily digestible reports that examine trends that we are seeing and provides examples of bad ads and websites they should remove from their platforms. we highlight steps to combat the problem and gives useful tips on how to make good choices online. our website also includes a dedicated age where people can easily reported suspicious ad on any of the websites.

report released in may details ads for phony tech-support services and we released our latest report for dietary supplements. member companies have allocated significant resources to keep dad ads off the platforms ensuring a positive user experience, essential to maintaining a vibrant ecosystem. the sale of numerous weight loss products is seen across all mediums. , radio, and the web. while some provide accurate and true information regarding overall effectiveness, some bad actors market products with outrageous claims and promises of dramatic weight loss. to use actors attempting online advertising, these kind of claims violate member companies policies and existing laws aimed that protect and consumers.

we applaud federal agencies for recognizing the weight-loss scam program -- problem and aims to educate. the ftc's consumer education website has an entire site devoted to weight loss and .itness it debunks their claims. online critical for advertising companies as well. collectively, hundreds of individuals on respect hiive to preventingd this illegal activity. most of these types of ads never reach of the user and are immediately rejected or automated filtering as soon as submitted. they are immediately removed in the advertiser account is reviewed. temporary or permanent

suspension is considered depending on the severity of the violation. it also plays an important role in bad ads. we carefully review consumer complaints and quickly take action when warranted. over the course of 18 months, aol, google, facebook, twitter, yahoo! have rejected over 200 million ads related to weight loss and dietary supplements due to numerous policy violations. all stakeholders are working hard to stop these ads, some of these sophisticated scammers fallingh to find ways within the guidelines and circumvent the automated filters. aol, facebook, google, twitter, to helpo! are committed protect users across the web. we can make me web base a for place for everyone.

thank you for this opportunity to testify. haralson.ou, dr. >> thank you, madam chair, members of the committee. thank you for this opportunity discuss this. we're the oldest and largest trade association in the natural products industry and we represent thousands of retailers, manufacturers, distributors and dietary supplements, personal care and millions of americans who you supplements each year. owners, small business many have gone into this business because they want to help people live truly helpful lives. always consult with your health-care care provider and dietary supplements are pop of a dutch part of a broader, healthier lifespan-- supplements are part of a broader, healthier lifestyle. it's a advertising is illegal

and should not be tolerated. we are especially concerned about fraud on the internet. we were founded by brick-and-mortar retailers and not internet only fly-by-night firms. public trust is one of the reason that natural products are in such high demand. no one has more of an interest in weeding out these than our members because it only diminishes their integrity. atbers report questionable claims so they can be disciplined. if you see something, say something. questionable ad claims are viewed by a committee of industry attorneys to determine to take action. the first is being mailed cease and desist letter that i have attached my testimony. the second is potentially fraudulent advertising or disease claims. since the program began, it has

resulted in 446 letters to such firms. 320 acknowledged and made corrections. the remainder were submitted to the f ea and ftc. partnerships that we do depend on central authorities to provide enforcement action. for consideration and areas of concern. finally being used for the first time. using tools like mandatory recidivism in making disease claims. that deceive with regards to weight loss. they developed the current and ample authority but we're still wrestling with internet advertising to dan fly-by-night issues.

we believe the ftc should consider using existing authorities to be more agile and disciplinary companies without regard to the revenue. more aggressive enforcement needs to be just as important as large-scale enforcement. currently using misdemeanor those alreadyor under consent orders and those who violate other laws. we don't see much use of these tools. perhaps at the expense of more any sizey muscle for or revenue stream. if they do not act intake down fly-by-night's early in the game, more will be tempted to get into the game. lastly, when we support the mission, we are concerned with recent development to consent orders. it is not meant to be applied industrywide.

we are seeing some evidence of a reduction inve quantity and quality of information about product available to them. changes move, it is not beneficial to anyone. one example is the apparent new requirement that additional studies and research are necessary prior to advertising like the requirement for two double-blind studies. legal orot current statutory requirement. this is not only outside of the statute but an unnecessary and inefficient use of resources that could is incentivize -- disincentivize. if such standards are applied generally, a currently required would be prohibited from sharing that information from consumers. this results in less information being available, not more, and

effectively changes the rules in the middle of the game. this could constitute a possible first amendment issues. we would like to work with the ftc and others to address these concerns and improve. thank you for holding this hearing. we will have questions and we have votes beginning and a little less than an hour. hope lee everyone will have an opportunity for two rounds of questions. i cannot figure this out, dr. oz. i get that you do a lot of good on your show. i understand that you give a lot of information that's great about health and you do it in a way that easily understandable. you're very talented. you are obviously very bright. you have been trained in

science-based medicine. here are three statements you made on your show. you may think magic is make believe that this little been as scientists saying they found the magic weight loss cure for every body type in green coffee extract. " i got the number one miracle in a bottle to burn your fat, raspberry ketone." " it may be the thing you've been looking for to bust your body fat for good." i don't get why you need to say this stuff is you know it's not true. why when you have this amazing megaphone in this amazing ability to communicate, why would you cheapen your show by saying things like that? >> i could disagree about whether they work or not and i will move onto the issue of the words i used. coffee bean extract as an example.

i will not argue that it would pass fda muster if it was a pharmaceutical drug seeking approval, but among the natural product out there and has several clinical trials and one large one done the year that we talked about this in 2012. about thato know clinical trial. the alley when i know is 16 thele in india paid for by company. at the point in time you officially talked about this being amerco, the only study out there was the one with 16 people written up by the company producing it. or fivee the four papers plus a series of basic well.e papers as senator mccaskill, we could spend a lot of time arguing the benefits. many thing we say with regards to your diet, should you be on a

low-fat diet, low carb diet? i recommend a low-fat diet but we have come full circle and no longer recommend that. not workingit was for patients. it is remarkably complex, as you know, to figure out what works for most in a dietary program. ideas, at new challenging orthodoxy, and evolving. these are clinical papers. we argue about the quality of them and that's justifiable. i can pick apart the benefits as well, but at the end of the day, real people having undergone trials. in this case, actually gave it to members of my audience. >> the trail you did with your audience, you would not say that would never pass scientific muster. publish theever paper. that was not the purpose. it was for me to get a thumbnail

sketch of it was worth talking about or not. i don't think this should be a referendum on the use of alternative medical therapies. i've been criticized for having folks on my show talking about the power of prayer. as a practitioner, i cannot prove that prayer helps people survive. >> you don't have to buy prayer. >> that's the difference. >> prayer is free. >> that's a good point. i see in the house will when folks are feeling discomfort, it lightens their burden. my show is about hope. as he very kindly stated, we have engaged millions of people including programs with the cdc to get people to realize there are different ways to rethink their future. their best years are not find them but in front of them. they actually can lose weight. i actually do personally believe in the items i talk about on the

show. i passionately study them. i recognize they do not have the scientific muster to resign last fact. i give the audience the advice i give my family all the time and i've given my family these products. i'm comfortable with that part. i do think i've made it more difficult in an attempt to engage viewers, i use flowery language that was very passionate but ended up not being helpful but incendiary and it provided fodder for unscrupulous advertisers. the clip that you played, over two years old, i've done hundreds of segments since then, we have specifically restricted our use of words. talkedoduct i've never about on the show that i feel very strongly about because i know what will happen. on a southow

american root with a big study published on it where they showed not only did it help people lose weight but help their health, men and women diabetic. it was not funded i industry. we talked about it and i used as careful language as i could and still, internet scam ads picking supportive words. of course i did. >> listen. i'm surprised that you are to do ag -- i'm trying lot of research in preparation for this trial and the scientific community is almost monolithic against you in terms of the efficacy of the product that you call miracles. when you call a product a miracle and it's something you can buy that lives people false hope, i don't understand why you need to go there. you have so much you can do on your show that makes it

different in controversial enough that you get lots of views. i understand you're in the business of getting viewers but theplore you to look at list the ftc put out on the gut check. it's very simple. cause of weight loss more than two pounds per week, weight loss the matter how much you eat, permanent weight loss, busting you look at those seven and you spend time on your show telling people these are the seven things you should know, there is not magic inamed wattle -- magic in a bottle. root thatof magic will make it not matter you are not moving in eating a lot of sugar and carbohydrates. do you disagree with any of the

seven? crocs senator, i know the seven. i say those things on the show all the time. >> then why would you say something is a miracle in a bottle? >> my job on the show is to be a cheerleader. when they don't feel they can have it happen, i want to look -- and i look everywhere, for any evidence that might be supportive. with the amount of information, i am comfortable telling folks that if you can buy a reputable version of it -- i don't sell it, and these are not for long-term use. it is one pound over the duration of the different trials. that was the amount of weight loss by the hundred or so folks on the show that came on. they got fake pills and we gave real pills to the other half. if you can lose a pound a week more than you would have lost doing the things you should have done already, you can sprinkle

it on kielbasa and expected to work. but if you get a few pounds off, a jumpstart you and gives you confidence. and then you follow the things we talk about. i think it makes sense. >> i'm willing to give time to my colleagues. , i know you feel you are a victim. onduct invitesc being a victim. mentionedopics you are over two years old. i have not been talking about products and that way for two years. it is not changed at all what i'm seeing on the internet. frankly, it is getting worse. i heed your commentary. i realize, to my cotton dust my colleagues at the fda, i have made their job more difficult.

but taking away the words doesn't change the problem. >> i asked the students who you were. be really clear. do believe there is a miracle pill out there? isthere's not a pill that going to help you long, lose weight, and lose the bet does live the best life without diet and exercise. >> do you believe there's a magic cure? looks -- >> if you are selling something because it is magical, no. if you argue it is going to be like magic, that is a truthful statement. it is true that most people cutting out carbs will loose weight. >> what works for most people? >> i dieted based on real food

that comes out of the ground. not processed. with some physical activity. most weight loss is about the food choices you make and keeping your weight low is about physical activity. >> you do not endorse any products or receive evening money -- any money. >> that is true. >> you worked to stop advertisers from using your names and likeness. you addressed online advertisements. what would you like to see done? >> three ideas. i think the private sector can help by creating a reference registry that are connected -- of celebrities connected to products. dust the list -- the list of scam celebrities go on.

that would make it easier for web hosting services. have whistleblower systems workplace safety and financial services. i think honest employees deserve theynsation and reward if report illegal behaviors. we have to incentivize whistleblowers. the scam artists in san diego, there were people who knew what they were doing was wrong and might have come forward. thirdly, i think we can create a private sector bounty that can help getting bounty hunters effectively on the web to engage and go after some of these folks. the people who are victims of these, myself included, would love to do anything we can to empower habit citizens to shut down scammers. , think it might be worthwhile

a bounty system funded by the private sector. we are not looking for new laws or government funding. >> what is your organization doing to stop these third parties from placing ads on websites? again, as i pointed out, our companies are deeply incentivize to make sure these ads offer platforms. i think having user trust in the advertisements is imperative to making sure the internet economy, the vibrant advertising system survives. veryompanies have sophisticated automated filtering systems that look for this kind of stuff. when we do find these kinds of ads, they are automatically removed. even from our system. in most cases, long before they are seen by users.

at the same time, as we are notified and seabed as on our bad ads onand see our platform, they are removed. >> senator rick crooks think you very much. -- >> senator. >> thank you very much. 's actionsthe ftc against green copy marketers, green coffee is still a product in the top 20 selling. ie rest are currently -- understand was featured on your show, dr. oz. it was also highlighted as a scam consumers. when it was on your show, did

you talk about the side effects are you about this. he said it was years ago. you are not making these claims anymore. did you talk about the side effects then? did the deceptive act assist change how you have conducted your show? >> i wrote transcripts of these difference joe's -- i brought to transcripts of these different shows. we would have an expert who spend their life dealing with dietary supplements talk about the products. they review pluses and minuses. i rip -- leafed through a few of these scripts. example, i don't sell the stuff. i will not mention any brand. , becausehat up

elsewhere in the segment, i talked specifically about the fact that if you don't exercise any diet -- exercise and diet, it is not going to work. it is just a pill. together with the normal things we tell you to do, healthy lifestyle, etc. -- toiggest service services not the flowery language. it is that i never told them where to go to buy the products. i wanted to stay above the fray. i felt in my own mind that if i talked about specific duties --ling high-quality products specific company selling it wouldity products, be as if i was endorsing them. so that open up a market for people to use my name to sell.

if i call it a miracle -- it is not a miracle that will work for everybody -- but it is miraculous. if i had told him coming up -- uy these four b companies -- >> what stopped you? >> a doctor shouldn't sell products. you wouldn't trust me if you said to take your own version of a cream. in the internet age, taking a bricks and mortar approach does not work. i should have been savvy enough company's i are the trust. go buy their products. they are not going to scam you or make you giggle claims. if -- illegal claims. what i said,anges

it is like what i said. it hurts me. this is a huge problem for me. >> as someone who has seen the ads, they are very seductive when you are looking through things and trying to figure out what a good diet plan is. you will have two choices. either you don't talk about these things at all that are going to be susceptible to this kind of scam, or you going to have to be more specific. you are not the only celebrity that has had this happen to them. i would go back to you on this. whether or not you think you have enough resources to go after this. the idea that you should just be focused on fly-by-night, or what do we need to do to get a handle on this? does put a lot of our weight-loss fraud enforcement efforts.

we pursue both fly-by-night and more savage companies. i mentioned was pretty much a fly-by-night company. we also pursued 11 different companies that were selling acai berry products. over thenet -- internet. we look across the board. there are a lot of players in this space. time intensivee to investigate. we look at the studies out there and hire experts. defendants will hire experts. we don't -- we want to be sure where the science is. we don't want to challenge something as false or misleading. intensive.re time it we are trying to bring as

many of them as possible and it's much money back for consumers as possible. get as much money back for consumers. >> i know we have had some votes on this and discussed this in congress. >> i certainly can't speak for the fda. i understand they have their the case ofith, in dietary supplements, with adulterated products. they take a number of products against weight loss process -- products that contain prescription drugs. >> do we need a bigger approach than just a celebrity list? people are relying on false claims that are not true. thet would be helpful -- approach taken by the truth in ads.org organization is helpful. if the media could do a better job of screening that these false claims -- we are helpful

toy were work with us disseminate that. that can help illuminate some of these ads from running. >> thank you. engle, i know you have taken a lot of actions against various companies. some of them a fly-by-night. what about the media outlets that run these ads? you all have never gone there. talk about that. is that an approach you have considered? when that you have authority to do? if you have a media outlet that is particularly using a lot of fraudulent, but they are not bringing them out, why no enforcement action? >> the media enjoys first amendment protections. there are those issues if we were to attempt to sue a media

company for running a deceptive ad. acts does of the ftc give us authority to pursue any entity that pursuit -- disseminating false or misleading ad. thought it really would make more sense to work with the media voluntarily among this gutly, issuing -- we call that red flags. we have renamed it. we have had -- we had good success at that time getting them to stop running ads seven falsehese claims. it makes more sense to work voluntarily with the media. said someyou have media have done a sophisticated job screening and some have not. who is doing a good job and who is doing a bad job?

>> and largely varies by the size of the media. the national bad cast -- broadcast media have had rigorous at screening programs. you would not have the types of ads you have seen today on the national advertising part of the media. the interesting thing is those national broadcasting companies own a lot of the cable stations that these ads are appearing on. same ownership. >> in the screening that is done for the affiliates and the cable channels very -- vary. when you get down to smaller media, and radio is a good example, a local media. the advertising staffs are small. that is where something like what the ftc has done with the seven claims, even an ad buyer and a small media could just sit and look at the seven claims and

say, yes for this. no for that. claim that you will never have to diet again or you can eat all you want and take this pill, those claims we still see. they should not be getting on the media. >> satellite radio is not local. they are all over satellite radio. >> there have been a number of changes in the technology that the industry needs to catch up with, you are right. >> you didn't want to say satellite radio, you waited for me to say it. i do think there's a problem there. if there are two things to look at in media screening. one is the traditional type of media screening that the broadcast networks do. the second is the program mr. haraldson talked about.

trying to translate that to the new media. onking at face claims algorithmic basis. that is an area that has a lot of promise for real progress. talk about the fly-by-night's. aftereasier to go companies that you can find that have the liens and are actually manufacturing something -- that have buildings and are actually manufacturing something. that is one of our conundrums in consumer election -- protection. so many hearings we have had, finding the po box or ip address and taking action against those responsible is, located in this world. is complicated in

this world. ptolemy about what kind of resources you may need or do not have to do a better job. works you are absolutely right. when you see an ad on the internet, for us, the first thing is to figure out who is he hiding the. it is not actually easy to do. what we are seeing a lot nowadays is some company will be working with a number of affiliate markers through -- marketers through an affiliate network. there are a host of companies that are placed in the little ads you see. when the consumer clicks on it, one weird old trick to lose weight, the consumer clicks on thatd buys the product, affiliate gets paid. but that is not the company selling the product. another is behind the product. that requires us to send out

alterable rounds of subpoenas to web posters and networks to figure out who is behind this. acaiis what we did in the berry sweet. it takes resources. can subpoena this information. it is time-consuming. >> what about the marketers. the middleman. have you gone after the middleman? the ones who are the affiliates you talk about that are the ones that are moving these ads around they are a conduit to the actual product company that is behind the curtain? have you taken action against those folks that are actually placing the secret to get rid of your belly fat? ask we have -- >> we have. we have on after large affiliates. one of the issues is, when we in, big the company is.

we have gone after every player in the ecosystem. frauds, the system with 100 offices gets about one million complaints. service we you can go and check and see what kind of complaints they are getting. as a set of my testimony, very -- as i said in my testimony, very often these are refundnied by bad policies and refund -- shipping policies. to, befores will go website, it the bbb will help. it will help protect them.

>> thank you. le, i want to know more about your orders. now barring defendants from making claims unless they have at least two adequate and well controlled human studies. is that adequate accurate -- is that accurate? are thethe requirements companies have too well controlled studies going forward. >> agency is trying to apply that elsewhere. even though there are current determiningbout whether evidence exists -- the question is whether you are applying this new standard

elsewhere. is there a conflict in some of the regulations you are trying to enforce? >> i don't see any conflict. the basic law is companies must have a reasonable basis for the advertising claims they make at the time they make those claims. what constitutes a reasonable basis will depend on the product and the claim. promisedse of rx that health benefits, the commission has required competent and scientific evidence. what constitutes this will vary depending on the claims. the claim that a product will prevent cancer or treat cancer will require a higher level of evidence than a claim that it will smooth dry skin. it in the case of weight loss products, aced on the factors we consider and consultation with thatts, we have determined randomized controlled clinical

studies are needed to substantiate a claim that a given product will cause weight loss. required twon has of the studies in its orders. i'm not saying if a company came to us with one good study on claim is notthat substantiated. once we have determined they have made unsubstantiated claims , we have put in a requirement that going forward they should have two studies. these kinds of studies for weight loss do not knew deep -- do not need to be particularly expensive relative to the amount of money that can be made for these products. fraud we havel of seen in this area, it is important to have the extra assurance of a second study to thise this is a result -- is a real result and was not due to a fluke or something like that. your dietary about

supplement guidelines. we have not revised that. or repudiated some of those guidelines. even though there are parts of those guidelines that appear to be inconsistent. you see it that way? >> i do not see a conflict. the dietary supplement guidelines are written to cover the full range of supplements that may be offered in the full range of claims. the guidance is written more broadly. again, in the context of a specific case and investigation, we know what claims were made for them and what the ingredients are. then we have a record on which order requirements going forward. >> any intentions of modifying those guidelines? >> there has been discussion of looking at them. they are 13 years old now.

need to behey freshened up. again, i don't think there's a conflict between what they say and what we are doing in our orders. >> senator? >> thank you. i want to talk to a little about the work you are doing. i was looking at my twitter account. i canny cups of coffee drink to lose two pounds. that was good various other things. fat melting and other things. i understand your member adpanies permanently suspend accounts if the violation of the ad policy is high. what does that mean? how many accounts have been suspended? are there temporary suspensions? >> every company has different approaches and policies in place.

however, it depends on the severity of the violation. or if there are multiple violations. there are options where member companies may, for example, work with the advertiser to fix the ad and make sure it is in compliance. there is an option to remove those ads. the third option, for egregious violations, is to suspend the advertiser account. enough, some of the sophisticated scammers will immediately try to open new accounts. try to push their ads through the filtering systems. it becomes a little bit of a cat and mouse game. >> when you say it is easier to target vulnerable populations through online advertising, you think more online companies are going to be -- sometimes they think it is a personal message to them. often just from people. attract types of scams

the largest constituencies. be it weight loss, hair loss, whatever you -- whatever. we are seeing these types of ads across the board. both in print media and online. the protection of data? more and more, we are using data of course, things -- people are getting all their data collected through this. i think it is a pretty interesting way to use self-motivation to get yourself to exercise and other things. protectinges consumer data to make sure it does not fall into the hands of scammers? what is going on in that front? if itm not familiar with bit collects the data on your wrist.

can you repeat a question? >> the question is about more and more the data going online. people injuring things in. in.ntering things has there been an effort to protect the data? knowledge, imy don't believe our member numbers -- companies are collecting dirt party data. but i am happy -- >> another issue is the pop-up ad you get when you start using products. some of them are collecting in formation. there is a fairly broad coalition called the digital advertising alliance looking at the question of collection of data across sites. doing some pretty significant

pioneering work. the organization was formed at the request of the federal trade commission to look at those issues. you areific issue talking about is one of the things still under development. that is a fairly tricky issue to get everybody in the industry on board with. that is an organization has been formed, working effectively and looking at those issues. all thepicking about new money spent on these products. people desperately looking at ways to lose weight. but obesity has more than doubled leading to health care challenges for our country. we know some of the diets are legitimate and will researched. some are not. al we saw at time, leveling out for kids.

with the work of the first lady and the school lunch programs, which we should not be rolling back -- that is another topic -- what do you think we should be doing to get people being able to spend their money on what works and what does not? we have to admit we have a major problem when people are spending more money and gaining more and more weight. -- the is precisely advertisers that sell and market products that do work. -- sells that ms. clement sells fitness equipment. it is clear you have a dedicated regime and stick with it. they lose their sales to these fraudulent products because people say, why would i exercise

for 45 minutes if i can just take a pill? >> your answer would be to be more intense about going after the fraudulent. that is what i keep going back to. the fda. getting some of them off the market. >> there is a big role that the types of self-regulatory programs that the table is can supplement the resources the government has. we see a lot of cases where we contact the advertiser and may change the claim. >> if it would be possible for me to add, one of the things that makes it difficult is it is not illegal to sell the products. it becomes illegal when you're selling it