Draft Consumer Protection Law is likely to hit social media influencers and digital marketers. They could face the head as it is their responsibility to ensure the claims made in their advertisement. Otherwise, it may soon fall upon them.
As per the draft guidelines, it is called as Central Consumer Protection Authority. It is also called as Prevention of Misleading Advertisement and Necessary Due to Diligence for Endorsement of Advertisement. The Central Consumer Protection Authority (1) has issued these guidelines.
The draft aims to prevent false and misleading advertisements. If the false claims are made in these advertisements, they may fall upon the individuals carrying out the endorsements.
Draft Consumer Protection Law to Prevent False Advertisements
The new draft guidelines target to prevent false endorsements. There is an entire section on these guidelines about the due diligence to be made by the advertiser. As per the reports, the officials are seeking feedback on the policies before 18 September.
Leela Nandan, Secretary of the Department of Consumer Affairs, explained that the guidelines are about the safeguards celebrities and other endorsers need to consider before advertising. It is a general understanding that people take authenticity in products when a star advertises something. Hence they need to take specific measures.
Amit Nagpal of Blogger Alliance commented on the matter and said that the budget for marketing has grown very thin due to the COVID-19 impact. The social media influencers’ earnings have now dropped by 60-70%.
Zefmo (2) recently released a report on India’s Influence. They found that over 95% of influencers expect a dip in their earning in the current fiscal year due to the coronavirus outbreak. It is opposite to what influencers in India made in 2019. As per the reports, the income of social media influencers crossed 1 billion USD last year. It makes it a viable profession for millions across the country.
Neel Gogia, Co-founder of Iplix Media, stated that influencers now have to do more research on the product or brand they endorse as per the draft Consumer Protection Law. Most of them trust the briefing of the brand and promote them without doing any research. However, we can now expect them to be selective of their associations and work with the brands.
