Up to Rs 50 lakh fine if these rules are flouted

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(For representational purpose) Image source: Canva

The Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food, and Public Distribution issued new guidelines for the social media market regarding endorsement videos. Failure to follow will attract fines up to Rs 50 lakhs. The guidelines are aimed at social media influencers who publish any sort of endorsement video about any brand on various social media platforms.

As per guidelines, the video needs to have a disclosure in simple and clear terms about any material interest involved with the brand. Furthermore, terms like ‘advertisement’, ‘sponsored’, or ‘paid promotion’ are permitted.

Furthermore, the celebrity or influencer needs to use the product or at least thoroughly research the services, that that they are endorsing. These new guidelines align with the Consumer Protection Act, of 2019, which was enacted to protect consumers from unfair trade practices and deceptive advertisements.

In case of violation, a penalty of up to Rs. 10 lakh will be imposed on manufacturers, advertisers, and endorsers. In subsequent offenses, the penalty can reach up to Rs. 50 lakh. Furthermore, the CCPA can also prohibit the endorser from making any endorsement for up to 1 year and in case of any extremities, up to 3 years.

As far as promotional videos are concerned with regard to automotive content, there are quite a few examples of those. Moreover, any sort of endorsements have also been displayed with clear disclosure about its intent, But slip-ups are accidental in nature, and in order to keep a check on that too, the guidelines from the center have been issued.

Several social media influencers and agencies participated via video conferencing as the industry appreciated and supported the release of these guidelines.

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