Introduction:

The Supreme Court cautioned that celebrities, influencers, and advertisers face equal accountability for endorsing and disseminating misleading advertisements, especially regarding food and health products. Highlighting a shared responsibility, the court stressed the need for accuracy in advertisements, involving both advertisers and endorsers, including celebrities and influencers.

Key Highlights:

The Supreme Court warned that celebrities, social media influencers, and advertisers will share equal responsibility and liability if they endorse and disseminate deceptive and misleading advertisements or services concerning food and health products.

It is the shared responsibility of advertisers and endorsers, including celebrities and influencers, to ensure the accuracy of advertisements.

Endorsements by public figures, influencers, celebrities, etc., go a long way in promoting a product, and it is imperative for them to act with responsibility when endorsing any product in the course of advertisements.

Important points:

• The guideline mandates the advertisers to submit self-declaration forms affirming their adherence to the Cable Television Network Rules, 1994, the Advertising Code issued under the Cable Television Network Rules, 1994 and other applicable legislations regulating advertisements before broadcasting ads.
• Additionally, television broadcasters must upload these declarations onto the Broadcast Seva Portal before airing the ads, as per the guidelines.
• The relevant ministry has been directed to establish a portal for advertisers to submit self-declarations for print media ads within four weeks.
• The bench comprising Justices Hima Kohli and A Amanullah cited the Guidelines for Prevention of Misleading Advertisements and Endorsements for Misleading Advertisements, to highlight the need to keep consumers well-informed.
• The provisions of the guideline are meant to serve the consumers and ensure that the consumer is made aware of the kind of product being purchase from the market, particularly in the health and food sectors.
• The court informed that the celebrities and influencers have to take responsibility for ads as mentioned in guideline 8 (ads that target children) and guideline 12 (duties of manufacturers, service providers and ad agencies) to ensure that consumer trust is not exploited due to lack of knowledge.
• It also added that Guideline 13 requires due responsibility to be taken for ads and requires a person who endorses a product to have enough information or experience with the specific food product to be endorsed.
• It is also directed that, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and FSSAI to file a fresh affidavit on action taken by CCPA on false or misleading advertisements, particularly in the food and health sector.

List of compliances to be complied by celebs and influencer:

• Social media influencers or their representatives to carry a disclosure label that clearly identifies it as an advertisement for all their published advertisements.
• They must ensure that disclosure is required for any material connection between the advertiser and the influencer in the advertisements.
• They must ensure that disclosures is required even if the evaluations are unbiased or fully originated by the influencer, so long as there is a material connection between the advertiser and influencer.
• They must ensure that disclosure is upfront and prominent so that it is not missed by an average consumer.

• A virtual influencer must additionally disclose to consumers that they are not interacting with a real human being.

• It must be responsibility of advertiser and influencer to disclose the material connection and content of advertisement.
• Influencers to ensure that the advertiser is in a position to substantiate the claims made in the advertisement.
• Celebrities or prominent personalities in virtual digital assets (VDA) advertisements to take special care to ensure they have verified the claims to avoid misleading consumers.

Conclusion

The Supreme Court’s decision ushers in a new dawn, where consumer rights are paramount, and enterprises are required to protect consumer interests while promoting their products and services. While several efforts have been made in the past to bring advertisers, endorsers, celebrities and social media influencers within the fold of misleading advertising regulations, having Courts take cognizance of the issue could help combat non-compliances and promote consumer welfare.

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