A set of rules and regulations will be announced by the ASCI for social media influencers, which they will need to follow. These regulations are regarding proper disclosure of partnerships with brands for promotional posts.
These will be implemented by the end of the next month, i.e. March.
Read on to find out what rules and regulations will be implemented on social media influencers.
ASCI To Implement Rules And Regulations For Influencer Marketing On Digital Platforms
The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) is now working on draft guidelines for influencer marketing on social media platforms, which include Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, and Twitter. The rules and regulations will be finalized by the end of March after the completion of public consultations.
As per ASCI Chairman Subhash Kamath, this step has been implemented because the line between content and advertising has started to blur in the digital world.
He said, “We believe these guidelines will not only help consumers to identify promotional content but also guide social media influencers to become more responsible when promoting brands.”
These draft guidelines have been formulated after consulting with influencers and that ASCI has collaborated with BigBang.Social for feedback.
The proposed draft states that influencers will have to add ‘disclosure labels’, which are “clearly visible, upfront and prominent” on advertising content. They will be ideally placed within the first two lines on any platform.
App Filters To Be Applied Reasonably; Disclosure Is Compulsory
This will also include that app filters have been applied reasonably and not to “exaggerate the claims of brands’ ads.” Also, this will make sure that technical or performance claims that are made by brands are not baseless.
Some other regulations also include time period for visibility of disclosure tags — i) depending on type of post – video, text, audios, livestream, etc. and ii) depending on the platform of posting – e.g. YouTube, Instagram or Facebook.
As per the draft, the blanket disclosures in influencers’ bio or account description sections will not be sufficient. Every post must contain the disclosure in English or the language of the advertisements.
The draft also recommends that the contractual agreement between advertiser and influencer carries clauses pertaining to disclosure, use of filters and due diligence.