FTC and FDA Lack Jurisdictional Tools to Police TikTok Subliminal Creators

Millions of young people watch TikTok "beauty subliminal" videos claiming to reshape faces and bodies, yet regulators struggle to act. The FTC and FDA target commercial entities making health claims, not individual creators monetizing engagement. Definitional gaps—subliminals frame as optimization rather than treatment—and questions about platform liability in creator economies leave enforcement largely toothless against pseudoscientific wellness content at scale.