Team Blitz India
Taking a firm stance on the issue of misleading advertisements, the Supreme Court has asserted that celebrities and social media influencers will be held equally responsible if the commercials they feature in are found to be deceptive.
The court made the remarks while hearing a petition by the Indian Medical Association (IMA) challenging misleading advertisements by Patanjali Ayurved endorsed by Yoga exponent and entrepreneur Ramdev. The top court also told the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution to file a fresh affidavit on action taken by Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) against false or misleading ads, particularly in the food and health sector. FSSAI has also been ordered to file a similar affidavit.
Act with responsibility
“We are of the opinion that the advertisers or the advertising agencies or endorsers are equally responsible for issuing false and misleading 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,” said the Bench of Justices Hima Kohli and Ahsanuddin Amanullah, while taking note of the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) guidelines which call for influencers to be transparent about paid endorsements. The court said celebrities and influencers should ‘not abuse the trust placed in them by the public’.
Follow the guidelines
“They have to take responsibility for advertisements as contemplated in Guideline 8 (ads that target or use children) and Guideline 12 (duties of manufacturers, service providers and ad agency) to ensure that the trust of the consumer is not abused or exploited due to sheer lack of knowledge or experience, “ said the top court.
Further, it said, “Guideline 13 requires due responsibility to be taken for advertisements and requires a person who endorses a product to have adequate information or experience with the specific food product to be endorsed, and it must be ensured that it is not deceptive.”
File self-declaration
The court said broadcasters need to file a self-declaration on the Broadcast Seva portal run by the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. It further ordered the Central Government to establish a new portal for filing such self-declaration forms for advertisements on print media. This portal is to be set up within four weeks, said the top court.
