Over 650 Ads Banned…! 2-year Jail, Rs 10 Lakh Fine for Misleading Ads for Covid-19

Advertising Standards Council (ASCI), advertising self-regulatory body, has previously tried to ensure compliance, but only in vain. However, CCPA can ensure compliance. Out of all advertisements, over 650 ads in the digital space related to coronavirus were banned by ASCI because they were found to be misleading.

Advertising campaigns claiming efficacy of products in protecting consumers from Covid-19 without scientific proof will be liable for penal action, the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) said.

“It appears that false claims are made to mislead the consumers for promotion of their products by taking advantage of the ongoing pandemic situation in the country,” the CCPA said in an advisory, adding that resorting to misleading or false advertising is an unfair trade practice and  liable for punishment ranging from imprisonment for up to two years to fine up to Rs 10 lakh.

In an advisory, CCPA added that in order to take advantage of the current pandemic, some advertisers are resorting to false claims to mislead or trick the consumers into buying the products while promotions. False and misleading claims in order to sell products shall be viewed as an unfair trade practice. This may lead to penal action which will range from a fine of 10 lakhs to imprisonment of up to 2 years.

There has been an increase in advertisement campaigns, especially the ones related to food as well as dietary supplements. Campaigns like, it is “100% swadeshi”, or it “kill 99.9 germs”, or it can “boost immunity” are on a sharp projection. As per TAM Media Research, in a period between January and July 2020, The TV advertisement for hand sanitizers has grown by almost 100 %. Owing to the pandemic, out of overall advertising volume in 2020, for personal care and hygiene products formed 20% of TV advertising.

It is the over the top efficacy touted by several brands especially in food, personal care, hygiene, apparel and mattresses which has led the CCPA to issue the advisory to these advertisers. In July 2020, under the Section 10 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, CCPA was established in the light of protecting consumer rights. To promote, protect and enforce the rights of consumers is the main objective of CCPA.

Following are the powers vested in CCPA :-

• Conduct investigations into violation of consumer rights and institute complaints or prosecution,

• Order recall of unsafe goods and services,

• Order discontinuation of unfair trade practices and misleading advertisements,

• Impose penalties on manufacturers, endorser and publishers of misleading advertisements.