The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has reportedly found that over 400 crypto ads have violated its guidelines so far this year. The majority of complaints received by the Advertising Council were directed at influencers.” Some influencers have spoken confidently without fully understanding the code.”
419 ads in violation – most complaints are about influencers
The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) reportedly revealed that it received 453 complaints related to crypto advertising between January and May.
The council added that of all the complaints, 419 cryptocurrency ads required correction, The Economic Times reported Monday, noting that most complaints concerned influencers.
Manisha Kapoor, CEO of ASCI, explained.
Some influencers speak confidently without fully understanding the code. It gives the impression that it’s safe, no problem, and cool.
She explained that the Council will continue to focus on proper disclosure and risk disclaimers for payment-based promotions. The standards body is now focused on raising awareness with crypto exchanges.
“Some of these influencer ads don’t even talk about risk, which is incorrect and against our guidelines. Technically, they are ads with no disclosures or disclaimers, which is mandatory,” Kapoor elaborated.
This is against our guidelines. If not complied with, we will escalate this to the government.
In India, there are two sets of guidelines that apply to most crypto advertising, one covering the promotion and advertising of cryptocurrencies, crypto exchanges, and non-fraudulent tokens (NFT). This was issued by ASCI in February and went into effect in April.
Another set of guidelines, which went into effect last June, regulates influencer advertising and marketing activities.
Since ASCI is a self-regulatory organization and its guidelines are not legally binding in India, in the event of a violation of the guidelines, the names of the violators are made public and escalated to the relevant government regulator.
In May, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) proposed a ban on public figures, including celebrities and athletes, advertising and recommending crypto products and services. The securities watchdog also proposed that public figures be held liable for legal violations when promoting crypto products.
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