In an effort to crack down on illegal circle lens sellers in the United States, the Federal Trade Commision (FTC) recently settled cases with 3 circle lens sellers, one being MyCandyEyes.com.

The FTC Contact Lens Rule States:
The settlement orders prohibit the defendants from selling contact lenses without obtaining a prescription from a consumer, or verifying prescriptions by communicating directly with a prescriber, from failing to maintain records of prescriptions and verifications, and from violating the Contact Lens Rule.
According to the FTC Website MyCandyEyes.com was ordered to pay $68,000 in cival penalties.

Selling circle lenses in the United States is illegal because of two reasons:
1) Circle Lenses are NOT approved by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration).
2) It is required by US Law that Circle Lens sellers request a prescription from all customers purchasing circle lenses.

It should be noted that any US Operated website selling circle lenses, or contact lenses without verifying a valid prescription are breaking the law and may have cival penalties imposed.

Even with the recent crackdown on circle lenses by the FTC, there are still violators. A few of the violators include:
www.turtlecontacts.com
www.kawaiilovebeauty.com

You can view the full FTC news release at:
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2011/11/circlelens.shtm

Circle lenses are quite possibly one of the most popular trends to hit the United States from Korea. Sure they make you look beautiful and different, but what about the legality? Are they really illegal? Why are they illegal?

In the United States, contact lenses are considered a medical device. It is illegal to sell contact lenses without a prescription. Yes, that includes circle lenses. While many believe circle lenses are not traditional contact lenses, they are. The governing agency that regulates this law is called the FTC (Federal Trade Commission).
The law requires any seller of contact lenses to verify a valid prescription from the customer before shipping their order. Sellers that do not follow the law can face fines up to $11,000 per violation. Furthermore circle lenses are NOT FDA Approved, meaning your favorite brand of circle lens (EOS, GEO, Dueba) is breaking US Laws. So if you are selling circle lenses, not only can you face action by the FTC, but you may also face action from the FDA for selling non-FDA approved medical devices. While they are KFDA approved, they can have their certification removed due to importing into the United States.

So how did this become such a hot issue? What is the big deal if someone wants to change their eye color?

Circle lenses came out around 2003. In the world of circle lenses, everything was relatively calm. Circle lenses, while not mainstream are worn by millions in the Asian community. In Korea, they are treated as medical devices and approved by the Korean FDA.

On July 3, 2010 an article in the New York Times was published by CATHERINE SAINT LOUIS. In the article Catherine falsely described circle lenses as a trend started by the singer Lady Gaga. In reality, circle lenses were around when Lady Gaga was a nobody. After the article was published, circle lenses went main stream. Major news outlets picked up the story and branded circle lenses as a new trend that is dangerous and destructive to your health.

Before the article was published, the FDA and FTC were unaware of circle lenses. The old saying, controversy creates cash was in full effect. Sales of circle lenses sky rocketed for online retailers and manufactures. Manufactures were having trouble keeping up with demand. At times the wait to receive an order was up to 1 month. Controversy also creates legal issues. To avoid embarrassment, the FDA and FTC took action and went after online retailers in the United States and imposed heavy fines. Still circle lenses are available for sale online, but only a handful operate illegally in the United States.