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# Stakeholders Want FDA ‘Twitter’ Research Changed
- URL: https://www.fdaweb.com/stakeholders-want-fda-twitter-research-changed/
- Published: 2017-01-10T12:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-14T21:58:54.000Z
- Author: David McFarland
- Tags: FDA Policy/General, #legacy-id-D5137688

Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) says that FDA’s use of character-space-limited social media platforms such as Twitter “should set the industry standard for appropriate utilization of these media.” [Responding](https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=FDA-2016-N-3585-0011&ref=fdaweb.com) to an agency research proposal involving character-space-limited online prescription drug communications, PhRMA says it believes that a link to prescription drug risk information can effectively convey the risks associated with a drug when benefit claims about the drug are made within such communications. And it notes that FDA has consistently used such a method in its Twitter account to announce new drug approvals. “As a matter of fundamental fairness, logic, and First Amendment law,” the PhRMA comment letter says, “companies should be able to utilize character-space-limited platforms in an identical manner.”

The letter also recommends that FDA undertake preliminary research before pursuing its proposed studies to help the agency decide whether the study will have practical utility and whether an alternate research design would be more appropriate. It also recommends that FDA consider several study design issues PhRMA raises to enhance the usefulness, quality, and clarity of the information to be collected in the research.

In its [response](https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=FDA-2016-N-3585-0006&ref=fdaweb.com), Klick Health suggests that the agency adopt a different study design based on the way drug companies are currently using space-limited social media platforms. The company says that since FDA’s 2014 guidance on what constitutes a compliant message in space-limited venues, it is not aware of a single ad or other promotional message from a prescription drug manufacturer that attempts to include all of the required elements in a space-limited context of a search engine ad. “The reason for this is quite simple,” it says. “Meeting the requirements set forth in the guidance is too onerous to enable effective use of space-limited platforms for communications that include benefit information. Instead, prescription drug manufacturers have resorted to using reminder ad formats and redirecting ad formats.”

The Digital Health Coalition [asks](https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=FDA-2016-N-3585-0010&ref=fdaweb.com) that FDA share in advance of the study the specific examples of the planned hypothetical search ads and “tweets” to be studied. The group offers to work with agency researchers to help identify sample ad units for the study that would translate to actual potential ads.

Finally, LiveWorld [calls](https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=FDA-2016-N-3585-0012&ref=fdaweb.com) on FDA to “add the high-volume misinformation into the assigned Google and short format results within the studies. The overwhelming positive messaging should be tested alone and with the various pharma inclusions to understand how this misinformation complicates the retention of the fair and balanced messaging.”