In India, there is no specific influencer marketing law, but a variety of influencer marketing laws, regulations, and guidelines apply to creators and influencers. However, most creators and influencers are unaware of the relevant laws and regulations surrounding influencer marketing.
The growth of influencer marketing has given rise to global influencer marketing laws and regulations. The purpose of this article is to provide in-depth information on the laws and regulations relating to influencer marketing that apply to Indian creators and social media influencers.
The Indian Influencer Marketing industry continues to grow as a key brand strategy and is expected to become Rs. 2,200 crore industry by 2025. Many brands are using the potential of social media influencers to sell their products and services much cheaper and faster.
Social media platforms have become increasingly popular, and a new kind of internet celebrity has emerged, so it’s no wonder brands are using bloggers, vloggers (‘creators’), celebrities, and other social media personalities (‘Influencers’) to reach their target audiences more effectively.
Creators and influencers are known for making and breaking trends. So, the influencer marketing business should not be taken lightly.
Influencer Marketing Laws in India
Indian influencers and creators are subject to a number of influencer marketing laws. Generally, there is no legislation in India that governs influencer marketing. However, there are various regulations and guidelines for creators and influencers to follow from ‘The Guidelines for Influencer Advertising in Digital Media’ of the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) to ‘The Guidelines for Prevention of Misleading Advertisements and Endorsements for Misleading Advertisements 2022’ of The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA).
The Laws and regulations primarily regulate influencer marketing and advertising in India are:
Consumer Protection Act, 2019 (Consumer Protection Act): Consumer protection legislation specifies the liability of people who endorse products or services.
ASCI Guidelines: The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) – an industry-acclaimed self-regulatory organization, released Guidelines for Influencer Advertising in Digital Media’ which subject endorsers endorsing products/services to certain obligations and disclosure requirements.
CCPA Guidelines: Central Consumer Protection Authority under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs released ‘Guidelines on Prevention of Misleading Advertisements and Endorsements for Misleading Advertisements, 2022’ to keep a watch on all kinds of endorsements and endorsers irrespective of the medium.
CCPA notification mentions special provisions for influencers, endorsers, and celebrities promoting brands through advertising. The endorsers must fully disclose any material interest in the products or services they endorse and do their due diligence before the endorsement.
On the other hand, the ASCI guidelines prescribe rules for influencers and creators to put disclosure labels on their accounts that indicate endorsements or partnerships post. Additionally, the rules mandate a disclaimer of at least 3 seconds on a 15-second video compared to the total duration if the video is longer than 2 minutes.
Legal Challenges of Influencer Marketing
There are numerous legal challenges of influencer marketing faced by creators and influencers. As Influencer Marketing becomes increasingly prominent, laws and regulations are evolving globally to make it a transparent and responsible business segment.
Influencer Marketing is relatively new and constantly growing, and the legal issues involved are also growing. Many brands, creators, and Influencers violate knowingly or unknowingly various laws and regulations that govern social media influencer marketing businesses. So, legal compliance of Creators and Social media influencers remains a top priority.
As influencer marketing strategies have become more sophisticated and complex, navigating the legal landscape has become increasingly challenging for creators and influencers. Influencer contracts and agreements with brands are becoming more complex.
Several brands have been exploiting influencer marketing through creators and influencers and fooling consumers. Therefore, it is imperative that laws and regulations are put in place so that consumers’ interests are protected.
There is no way for most consumers to distinguish whether a product they are seeing advertised by their favorite influencer is an organic recommendation or a commercially promoted/sponsored product.
Legal Risks for Creators and Social Media Influencers
Influencer marketing has revolutionized the world of marketing and advertising, and attracted increased levels of regulation, resulting in legal and commercial risk for those involved. If you’re an influencer or creator, you need to know about legal risks for creators and social media influencers.
Being a creator or an influencer, have you ever imagined what would happen if you published a paid post on your social media handle based on information provided by the brand or agency, but it turned out to be a scam or misleading? Unfortunately, you could be held responsible and face legal consequences such as arrest and lawsuit.
As a Creator or influencer, you are legally accountable for claims you make in your post, have to provide proof of due diligence relating to claims you made and disclose any material connection such as fairness or revenue sharing with the brand.
The influencers encourage the audience to click on links to purchase and watch videos where they summarize the good and the bad of a particular product or service. Whether creators and influencers can be liable for product claims or statements often arises.
The short answer is “yes” – the creators and influencers can be liable for the claims, so it is important that you have a solid contract in place with the brand to insulate yourself from liability. Being a Creator or influencer may be more liable for the role in marketing products and services.
A social media influencer who has the power to affect the purchase decisions of others can be sued for misleading, scam, or trademark infringement in connection with the endorsed products or services.
Why do Creators and Influencers need Influencer Marketing Lawyers?
There are various laws and regulations governing influencer marketing worldwide. There can be legal consequences if a creator or influencer makes a false claim about a product or service and does not follow the Guidelines of CCPA and ASCI. That’s why it is very important to have an influencer marketing lawyer on your side.
influencer marketing lawyer provide strategic legal advice to brands, creators, influencers, and all creative professionals to navigate the legal consequences of influencer marketing and comply with the specific laws that govern social media influencer marketing business activities.
Our influencer marketing lawyers help you maximize the potential of mutually beneficial opportunities and avoid legal risks present in influencer marketing campaigns. Having a social media influencer lawyer on your side is a critical investment decision.
As content creation has evolved into a full-fledged career with contractual obligations and disputes, so legal assistance is essential for creators and influencers. An influencer marketing lawyer ensures that your content and contracts are in compliance with laws and regulations of the land.
How Influencer Marketing Attorney can help you?
We have experience in drafting, reviewing and negotiating contracts and agreements to protect your best interests. Our Influencer Marketing Attorney help you understand what you are signing for and what should not be overlooked when signing a contract.
It is also very important for influencers and content creators to abide by CCPA and ASCI guidelines when promoting brands on social media. This is where legal advice becomes important.
As your legal advisor, influencer marketing attorney will ensure that your content complies with CCPA and ASCI guidelines, review content before posts are published, advise you to label posts correctly according to the guidelines, and advise you on the rectification process in the event of issues. Before you post your content, it is vetted thoroughly by an influencer marketing attorney to protect the interests of both influencers and brands.
Our Influencer Marketing Attorneys regularly advise creators, influencers, brands, and agencies on the regulatory landscape and commercial contracts, such as representation agreements, influencer agreements, brand endorsement agreements, and other bespoke commercial arrangements.
In addition to contract drafting, negotiating, and reviewing agreements, content creators also need legal help to familiarize themselves with various intellectual property matters. Our Influencer Marketing Attorneys are representing creators, influencers, and all creative professionals to cater to the growing influencer marketing industry in India.
Our core focus areas include influencer marketing campaign negotiation, contact & agreements, disclosure, regulatory advisory, and dispute resolution between creators and brands or agencies.
Lawyer for Social Media Influencers
A Lawyer for social media influencers deals with influencer marketing laws and regulations. Our social media lawyers specialize in social media influencer marketing legal services and assist creators and influencers with their legal issues. The social media influencer marketing lawyers at our firm assist influencers and creators with legal matters related to their influencer marketing campaigns.
Whether you are a brand, agency, creator or social media influencer, we provide legal advice and multi-jurisdictional support. Our influencer marketing lawyers help you protect your creation, image, publicity rights, copyrights, and trademarks.
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