FTC Hits Lumosity for Deceiving Consumers with Brain Training Claims

(Jan. 5, 2016) It was a no brainer for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to charge the owner and marketer of the Lumosity brain-training program with deceiving customers through unsupported claims.

Lumos Labs, Inc. d/b/a Lumosity, along with its co-founder and its chief scientific officer, agreed to pay $2 million in penalties and will notify subscribers about the FTC action to allow them to cancel their contracts.

The FTC said Lumosity, since 2007, has marketed, advertised, distributed, and sold its Lumosity Program directly to consumers via its website and mobile apps. The company claimed its programs provide “brain training” through video games. The complaint alleges the company “represented that brain training with the Lumosity Program will improve performance on everyday tasks; will improve school, work, and athletic performance; will delay age-related decline in memory and protect against other age-related conditions such as mild cognitive impairment, dementia, and Alzheimer’s disease,” among other claims.

Lumosity’s claims in its advertisements include:

• “It’s like a personal trainer for your brain, improving your performance with the science of neuroplasticity, but in a way that just feels like a game.”
• “Lumosity turns neuroscience breakthroughs into fun, effective games. Stimulate your brain today.”
• “Lumosity exercises are designed by neuroscientists and continually evaluated through independent research studies at institutions such as Harvard, Stanford, and UC Berkeley.”
• “Lumosity’s groundbreaking program is based on extensive research in the field of neuroplasticity.”

The FTC found Lumosity’s statements were false or unsubstantiated. The company agreed not to make such claims in the future unless they possess “competent and reliable scientific evidence to substantiate the representation is true.” The evidence must consist of human clinical testing that is sufficient in quality and quantity and based on standards generally accepted by experts in the relevant field. “Such testing shall be (1) randomized, adequately controlled, and blinded to the maximum extent practicable; and (2) be conducted by researchers qualified by training and experience to conduct such testing.”

The FTC also found that “testimonials” on Lumosity’s website “were not spontaneously generated by consumers but instead were solicited by Defendants as part of contests where consumers received significant prizes such as an iPad, a trip to San Francisco, and a lifetime subscription to the Lumosity Program.” The payments were not disclosed to other consumers.

The Lumosity case demonstrates how companies must be careful when they make claims about what their products can do, especially in the area of potential health benefits. Balough Law Offices assists its clients in reviewing website content and advertising claims before they are published.

Federal Trade Commission v Lumos Labs, Inc. et al., N.D. Calif. 16 cv 000001, filed Jan. 4, 2016.