Statement of Commissioner Roscoe B. Starek, III, Concurring in Part and Dissenting in Part I have voted to issue the complaint and final consent order against California Suncare, Inc. (CSI) because, for the most part, it provides appropriate relief for the extremely serious misrepresentations alleged in the complaint about the health and safety effects of ultraviolet radiation (UVR) exposure and the benefits and efficacy of the company's tanning products. However, I do not support including the "untriggered" disclosure in Part V.A. of the consent order.(1) In my view this remedy constitutes corrective advertising, and I am not convinced that the evidence here meets the standard for imposing corrective advertising set forth in Warner-Lambert Co. v. FTC, 562 F.2d 749, 762 (D.C. Cir. 1977), cert. denied, 435 U.S. 950 (1978). Both the characteristics and the scope of the untriggered disclosure lead me to conclude that it is actually corrective advertising in disguise. The disclosure requirement has certain characteristics usually associated with corrective advertising: it runs until a specific time period expires and a specific sum of money is exhausted, and it must be made regardless of the representations CSI makes about its products. See, e.g., American Home Products Corp. v. FTC, 695 F.2d 681, 700 (3d Cir. 1982) ("[A] genuine corrective advertising requirement . . . demand[s] disclosure in future advertisements regardless of the content of those advertisements."). Most significant, however, the scope of the untriggered disclosure far exceeds its rationale. The disclosure must appear in CSI's general advertising as well as in all promotional materials distributed directly to consumers for any tanning product that does not contain a sunscreen with a minimum SPF of 2. Yet the rationale advanced for this untriggered disclosure is that it is necessary to protect prospective purchasers from being misled by future misrepresentations about the effects of UVR exposure, particularly misrepresentations that might occur at "the point of sale" -- the tanning salons where consumers purchase CSI products. I see no reason for the untriggered disclosure to appear in general advertising if the disclosure's true intent is to prevent possible future deception of consumers at the point of sale. The disparity between the scope of the disclosure and its rationale suggests that its primary purpose is more consistent with corrective advertising than with an affirmative disclosure. The purpose of corrective advertising is to dispel false beliefs in the public mind created or reinforced by a challenged ad that are likely to endure (and thus to influence purchase decisions) even after the ad stops running. In contrast, the purpose of an affirmative disclosure remedy is to prevent deception from future claims like or related to those challenged.(2) I recognize that the untriggered disclosure might have some impact on potential future deceptive claims about UVR exposure at the point of sale, but it is overbroad for this particular purpose, and the need for it seems minimal in light of the extensive other relief provided by the final order.(3) Thus, the main purpose of this untriggered disclosure seems to be to ameliorate lingering false beliefs that may have been created or reinforced by CSI's past claims that UVR exposure not only is not harmful but is positively beneficial. Although both corrective advertising and affirmative disclosures are forms of fencing-in relief that are well within the Commission's remedial authority, the standard for imposing corrective advertising is significantly more stringent than that for an affirmative disclosure. In imposing corrective advertising, the Commission normally relies on extrinsic evidence of the existence of lingering false beliefs created by past advertising. In certain cases, however, it may be possible to presume the existence of such false beliefs based on the nature and extent of the advertising campaign. Warner-Lambert, 562 F.2d at 762-63.(4) An affirmative disclosure remedy, on the other hand, requires only that the disclosure be "reasonably related" to the alleged violations. In my view, it is important to distinguish between corrective advertising and affirmative disclosures because the Commission should not evade the more demanding standard for corrective advertising where it is clearly applicable. There appears to be little basis for Part V.A. of the order when it is viewed as corrective advertising. There is no direct evidence that CSI's ads and sales materials created or contributed to a lingering false impression that UVR exposure through sunlight and tanning has the health and safety benefits represented by the company. Moreover, I am not persuaded that it would be appropriate to presume that the company's message -- that UVR exposure is beneficial -- would endure in light of pervasive messages to the contrary. By issuing this consent order against CSI, the Commission comes perilously close to lowering its standard for imposing corrective advertising by erasing the already blurred dividing line between that form of fencing-in relief and affirmative disclosures. Such a change is one that I cannot endorse. 1. Part V.A. requires CSI to include the following statement in any advertising and promotional materials disseminated directly to consumers or through purchasers for resale (except television advertising, billboards and advertising in magazines sold only by subscription for which half or more of the readership is comprised of tanning or beauty salon professionals): "CAUTION: Tanning in sunlight or under tanning lamps can cause skin cancer and premature aging -- even if you don't burn." This disclosure is applicable to all of respondent's products that contain a sunscreen ingredient providing a sun protection factor (SPF) of less than 2 and must be made until CSI spends $1.5 million on dissemination. If CSI does not expend this amount within 2½ years after the service of the order, the untriggered disclosure then becomes applicable to all forms of advertising until the required amount is spent. 2. It is difficult to draw bright lines between these possible forms of fencing-in relief, and I am not suggesting that the Commission forgo ordering affirmative disclosures in all circumstances in which the disclosures, while targeted primarily at the prevention of deception from future claims, may also incidentally affect a possible lingering public misimpression created by past advertising. This situation is not the case presented here. 3. In addition to prohibiting misrepresentations about the effects of UVR exposure and tanning and unsubstantiated claims about the performance, safety, benefits, or efficacy of products or services used in connection with tanning, the consent order requires two additional affirmative disclosures (Parts V.B. and V.C.) that are triggered by claims about the safety or health benefits of exposure to sunlight or indoor UVR. The language of these triggered disclosures is similar to that of the untriggered disclosure. The triggered disclosures apply to labeling and packaging --forms of advertising exempted from the untriggered disclosure -- and, after the untriggered disclosure requirement runs out, to all other advertising and promotional material. The order (Part VI) also requires CSI to send a letter to distributors and retailers of the company's tanning products that describes the Commission's enforcement action and advises them to stop using ads and promotional materials that contain any of the representations prohibited by the order or face losing CSI's business. 4. See, e.g., Eggland's Best, Inc., Docket No. C-3520 (Aug. 15, 1994) (Statement of Roscoe B. Starek, III). |