The Department Of Consumers Affairs has issued the new guidelines naming” endorsement know-how’s for the celebrities and the virtual social media influencers.It was made compulsory on Friday that the social media influencers must disclose all the material interest such as gifts, equity, hotel accommodations and awards when endorsing any products which included a ban on endorsements can be taken.
Details.
The regulations are the part of continuing efforts to prevent the misleading advertisements and the interest of consumers during the expansion of the social media influencer market.
The guidelines is named as ” Endorsement know how’s for celebrities and influencers on social media platforms “. If any violation of this rule takes place , a penalty will be prescribed for the misleading advertisement under the Consumer Protection Act 2019 will be applied. the authority can penalize up to Rs. 10 lakh on advertisers , manufacturers and endorsers. If any subsequent offence takes place Rs. 50 lakh fine can be imposed . The authority can further restrict the endorser of the misleading ad up to 1 year and can further extend up to 3 years.
Further Information.
Rohit Kumar Singh, the secretary of the Consumer Affairs stated that the guidelines provide the framework for the protection of consumers against mal practices.
Mr. Singh further stated,” The size of the influencer market in India is quite vast with an order of Rs. 1275 crores in 2022. The Social Media influencing means those people having a decent number of followers, are in the excess of 1 lakh in the country.
The social media is growing at a fast pace in the country and therefore there is a need to keep this market under control . The market should be regulated in a systematic manner so as to keep in control the misleading ads on the social media platforms.
Mr. Singh added,” One of the biggest paradigm of the consumer law is the consumers right to know and this falls in that purview. Consumers should know if something is provided to them from digital media or any person sponsoring it have taken money with the brand.
