DSSRC Administrative Closure #1

The Direct Selling Self-Regulatory Council (DSSRC) inquired with a direct selling company regarding twos social media posts disseminated by members of the Company salesforce. The first claim appeared on Instagram and stated that that the salesforce member was able to more than replace her salary from here previous, full-time job. 

The second post appeared on Facebook and was a side-by-side, before-and-after depiction showing substantial weight loss as a result from using the Company’s product. 

The Company indicated that the Instagram post was made by a salesforce member that is no longer an active and that despite using its best efforts, it was unable to contact the individual responsible for the post. The Company advised DSSRC that it is in the process of contacting Instagram and would be asserting its intellectual property rights to have the post removed. 

The Facebook post was made by an active member of the Company’s salesforce. The Company informed the sales representative that her post must include the Company authorized disclosure of generally expected product performance results and assured DSSRC that it will continue to emphasize with its salesforce the necessity of including such a disclosure when making atypical  performance representations. DSSRC confirmed that post at issue was modified accordingly.

Based upon the actions taken by the Company to address the posts, DSSRC administratively closed the matter and informed the Company that it would be subject to a follow-up compliance inquiry if future posts are identified as making unqualified atypical representations.

(closed on 3/8/19)