Government On Monday, the Supreme Court asked all advertisers and advertising agencies to submit self-declaration certificates to make it clear that the advertisement does not make misleading claims and follows regulatory guidelines. According to the instructions issued by the Supreme Court last month, self-declaration will be mandatory for all new print, digital, television and radio advertisements. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said in a statement that the Supreme Court’s direction is a step towards ensuring transparency, consumer protection and responsible advertising behavior. Experts say that this is a very good step. This will prevent consumers from being cheated and will be able to buy the right product.
The new rule will come into effect from June 18, 2024
The self-declaration certificate must be uploaded on the ‘Broadcast Services’ portal in case of TV and radio advertisements and on the Press Council of India (PCI) website for print, digital and internet advertisements. This self-declaration certificate must also be signed by an authorized representative of the advertiser or advertising agency. All advertisers and advertising agencies are required to obtain this certificate for all new advertisements to be released/broadcast/published on or after June 18, 2024. A buffer period of two weeks has been kept to provide sufficient time to all stakeholders to become familiar with the process of self-certification.
Norms of journalistic conduct included
However, advertisements that are currently being aired or published will not require self-certification. The document must certify that the advertisement does not make misleading claims and complies with all relevant regulatory guidelines. This includes Rule 7 of the Cable Television Networks Rules, 1994 and the Press Council of India’s norms of journalistic conduct. The advertiser must provide proof of uploading the self-declaration certificate to the concerned broadcaster, printer, publisher or electronic media platform for their records. As per the Supreme Court’s direction, no advertisement will be allowed to run on television, print media or the Internet without a valid self-declaration certificate.
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