Misinformation issue: House panel investigates online businesses for pushing ‘questionable’ coronavirus treatments

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Sat, 2021-10-30 16:00 — mike kraft

House panel opens inquiry into online businesses over ‘questionable’ coronavirus treatments and misinformation SpeakWithAnMD.com and America’s Frontline Doctors have prescribed thousands of doses of unauthorized coronavirus treatments, lawmakers say. Aaron Gregg Washington Post

A House panel is demanding documents from a pair of online businesses as part of an inquiry into whether they pushed what it calls ineffective and dangerous coronavirus treatments, according to letters made public Friday.

According to a letter signed by Rep. James E. Clyburn (D-S.C.), chairman of the House Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, the telemedicine provider SpeakWithAnMD.com has collected millions of dollars in fees from prescribing such treatments as the animal parasite drug ivermectin and the malaria medication hydroxychloroquine for the coronavirus, even though neither is authorized for that use by the Food and Drug Administration.

Clyburn said many of the consultations were arranged through referrals from America’s Frontline Doctors (AFLD), a separate business that is also a subject of the congressional investigation.

Clyburn said he is concerned that the two companies are endangering lives while profiting from a public health crisis. ...

The investigation represents the latest attempt by a government body to crack down on what it calls coronavirus misinformation, which has proliferated online since the pandemic began more than 18 months ago. Public health experts contend that unproven treatments are harmful because some people view them as viable alternatives to vaccines or medical treatment.

The Federal Trade Commission has sent hundreds of warning letters to other organizations for promoting a range of bogus coronavirus treatments. The agency has accused a number of organizations of false advertising and ordered them to stop. Under the FTC Act, false advertising is subject to fines of as much as $43,792 per violation, according to one of its letters.

The House committee has also asked the FTC to open an investigation into SpeakWithAnMD.com and America’s Frontline Doctors and “appropriately exercise its oversight authority.” In a letter to FTC Chair Lina Khan, Clyburn said the companies “are reportedly profiting from the promotion and sale of treatments falsely advertised as cures for coronavirus infection.” He also said they might be in violation of the FTC Act, the COVID-19 Consumer Protection Act and possibly other federal laws. ...

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