Govt issues guidelines to prevent misleading ads
NEW DELHI: The government on Friday came out with new guidelines to prevent misleading advertisements, including those targeting children and making free claims to woo consumers.
The guidelines also specify due diligence to be carried out while endorsing in advertisements. The new guidelines notified by the consumer affairs ministry—that have come into force with immediate effect— also prohibit surrogate advertisements and have brought transparency in disclaimers in ads.
Announcing the guidelines, consumer affairs secretary Rohit Kumar Singh said: “Advertisements have great interest for consumers. Under the CCPA Act, there are provisions to handle misleading advertisements affecting consumers rights.
“But to make it more explicit, clear and aware to the industry, the government has come out with guidelines for fair advertising with effect from today,” he said.
The guidelines will be applicable to advertisements published on all platforms like print, television and online.
Action against violation of the new guidelines will be taken as per the provisions of the Central Consumer Protection Act (CCPA).
Stating that these guidelines will not bring change overnight, the Secretary said, however, it gives a framework for the industry stakeholders to prevent misleading ads even by mistake and will also empower consumers and consumer organisations to file complaints against misleading ads.
The secretary also mentioned that these guidelines will apply to government advertisements as well. The advertising guidelines for self-regulation issued by the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) will also be in place in a parallel manner.
Elaborating on the guidelines, CCPA chief commissioner and additional secretary in the consumer affairs ministry Nidhi Khare said: “CCPA has taken action against misleading ads during the pandemic. We felt that there was a need to have guidelines, so that stakeholders are aware of them and do not violate without knowledge.”The new guidelines clearly define what ‘ misleading advertisement’ means and provide various criteria for an advertisement to be considered valid and non-misleading, she said.
It also provides clarity on ‘bait’ advertisements, and ‘free claims’ advertisements, while prohibits ‘surrogate’ advertisements or indirect advertisements.
Bait advertisement means an advertisement in which goods, products or service is offered for sale at a low price to attract consumers.
Besides, the guidelines lay down conditions to be complied with while issuing bait advertisements and free claims advertisements, enumerating various factors to be considered in publishing ads especially targeting children.