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India plans to roll out a unified system to address consumer complaints against misleading advertisements, days after the Supreme Court pulled up the government citing inadequate action.
India plans to roll out a unified system to address consumer complaints against misleading advertisements, days after the Supreme Court pulled up the government citing inadequate action.
While completely overhauling the mechanism, the government will also establish a central data repository of consumer complaints, two people aware of the matter said on the condition of anonymity, as details are not public yet.
Currently, complaints against misleading ads are registered with Broadcast Seva, Press Council of India and the National Consumer Helpline. The government aims to streamline the process as multiple platforms often lead to delays and inconsistencies in addressing grievances, the first of the two persons quoted earlier said.
Consumer goods companies, including Patanjali, have drawn rebuke from the top court as misleading advertisements have triggered concerns about violation of consumer rights.
The government’s plan for a unified mechanism is likely to be presented to the Supreme Court this week by information & broadcasting, and consumer affairs ministries. It's expected to be part of their response after the apex court last month censured the government for not registering enough complaints related to misleading health claims made by companies.
Also read | A three-pronged taskforce in the works to rein in digital ads running amok
According to the top court’s 30 July order, from April 2022 to May 2024, 132 consumer complaints related to the health sector were received, and of these 116 were resolved. However, over 2,500 complaints were registered between April 2018 and 2022 before the National Consumer Helpline (NCH) portal was established.
Queries emailed to the ministries of consumer affairs, and information & broadcasting remained unanswered till press time.
Exaggerated claims
Misleading ads are false or exaggerated claims about products or services, omission of critical details or deceptive imagery. These can mislead consumers, affecting their decisions and leading to unfair practices.
A single data centre to collect and manage all complaints against misleading advertisements will ensure that the issues are handled more efficiently and seamlessly, the second person quoted earlier said.
Also read | Govt to limit surrogate ads promoting liquor makers like Carlsberg, Diageo, etc
"So far, three meetings have been conducted with stakeholders and we have summarized all the suggestions and are submitting only those that are feasible," this person said. “Neither the stakeholders, nor the government will need to engage repeatedly with each other to take action against any violator."
Poor coordination
According to Shweta Purandare, founder of advertising regulation consultant Tap-a-Gain, poor coordination among central and state regulatory agencies has created a haven for unscrupulous advertisers, who are further emboldened by absence of consequences for making misleading claims.
The Supreme Court’s criticism of the government is spot on, said Purandare, former secretary-general of Advertising Standards Council of India (Asci)—a self-regulatory body. "It has aptly identified the primary lacunae – lack of efficient suo motu action by regulators, lack of transparency in complaint handling, and lack of accountability for inaction by any stakeholder."
Also read | SC on Patanjali misleading ads: ‘File original page of all newspaper apologies’
Consolidating everything into a single-point system with a dashboard providing updates on action taken would effectively address these gaps, said Purandare.
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