News Highlights:
- Regulation of social media promotions: Recently, The Centre has released endorsement guidelines for celebrities and social media influencers that mandate compulsory disclosure of monetary or material benefits of a product or a brand they are promoting through their social media platforms.
- Failing to do so will attract a penalty of up to ₹ 50 lakhs.
key takeaways:
The step taken is after considering the increased use of social media for promotional activities beyond advertisements or advertorials in print or electronic media.
Guideline for Enforcement on Social Media:
- New disclosures Guidelines:
- The disclosures must be prominently and displayed in the endorsement, making them “extremely hard to miss”, and terms such as ‘advertisement’, ‘sponsored’ or ‘paid promotion’ should be used for all sorts of endorsements.
- Benefits and incentives, monetary or other compensation, trips or hotel stay, media barters, coverage and awards, free products with or without conditions, discounts, gifts and any family, personal or employment relationship come under material benefits according to the guidelines.
- Endorsements must be made in simple, straightforward language and terms such as ‘advertisement,’ ‘sponsored,’ or ‘paid promotion.’
- Celebrities and social media influencers should not endorse any product or service or service in which they have done due diligence or that they have not personally used or experienced.
- Objects of new guidelines:
- It aims to ensure that individuals do not mislead their audiences when endorsing products or services and that they comply with the Consumer Protection Act and any associated rules or guidelines.
- Penalty:
- If there are any violations, the penalty prescribed for misleading advertisements under the Consumer Protection Act 2019 will be applicable.
- In that case, the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) can impose a penalty of up to ₹ 10 lakhs on manufacturers, advertisers and endorsers. For repeated offences, a penalty of up to ₹ 50 lakhs can be imposed.
- The CCPA can also prohibit the endorser of a misleading advertisement from making any endorsement for up to one year. For subsequent contravention, prohibition can extend up to three years.
- Need For Guidelines:
- With the increasing reach of digital platforms and social media, such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, there has been a rise in the influence of virtual influencers, in addition to celebrities and social media influencers.
- This has led to an increased risk of consumers being misled by advertisements and unfair trade practices by these individuals on social media platforms.
Social Media:
- Significance:
- Social media plays an integral role in our lives today and has a huge bearing on society and individuals.
- Social media has revolutionised how people communicate and socialise on the web.
- Rise of social media:
- The phenomenal rise of social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and others is proving to be a double-edged sword in the functioning of democracies.
- On the one hand, it has democratised access to information. On the other hand, it has concentrated power over that information with a handful of private companies, their billionaire owners, and certain ideologically committed activist groups.
- Billions of netizens worldwide now feel empowered to bypass traditional curators of information, such as journalists and editors, in searching for their choice of content.
- Global Statistics on social media:
- According to Global Statistics, in India, the number of social media users is growing at a steady rate of 467 million in 2022 due to deep penetration of internet connectivity among people.
- Also, overall, the number of Internet users in India has grown to a whopping 658 million, roughly 47% of the total population of India.
Impact of social media:
- Positive Impact
- The Power of Social Media is that it forces Necessary Change.”
- It is generally agreed that social media provided a crucial news source during the Arab Spring.
- It helped create awareness about several issues, e.g. the fight for LGBTQ rights etc.
- Social media has made us closer to other parts of the world.
- WhatsApp is essential for rural users, as it helps them cheaply connect to family members far away and send pictures of their products to clients across India.
- Social media platforms provide a platform to raise their voice against injustice and inequality.
- Negative Impact:
- Social media platforms are often used for advertising products and services, but some businesses use misleading or false advertising, which is an unfair trading practice.
- Social media has become a breeding ground for cyberbullying and harassment, leading to mental health issues and even suicide in some cases.
- Social media platforms collect and store large amounts of personal data, raising concerns about privacy and data security.
- Social media platforms operate with little regulation, which can lead to harmful content, fake news, and hate speech.
Way Forward:
- A digitally literate country is the need of the hour. Responsible social media use must be taught at every school and college in the country, especially in rural areas where people can be easily manipulated.
- Social media companies must implement stricter content moderation policies and more robust systems for identifying and removing harmful content.
Pic Courtesy: Freepik
Content Source: The Hindu