How many likes? Centre's plan to rein in social media influencers explained

Influencers take note – the Centre is expected to issue guidelines making it mandatory for social media stars to disclose their association with products they promote. The guidelines are expected to be issued within the next two weeks. “The Department of Consumer Affairs is coming out with guidelines on social media influencers. It is creating dos and don’ts for them,” a government l source told PTI. Let’s take a look at why this is happening and what social media influencers will need to take note of: How do influencers make money? Influencers who are popular on social media platforms such as Twitter and Instagram make money by recommending products to their followers. As per Hindu Business Line, brands either pay influencers or give them free products. Paid social media promotion works similarly to word-of-mouth marketing, but on a far bigger scale due to the sheer power and reach of social media, as per News9. Influencing in India is big business. Digital agency Adlift has pegged the influencer marketing segment in India at between $75 million and $150 million every year, as per the report. Why now? This comes as brands more and more are turning social media influencers for paid promotion and reviews, as per Hindu Business Line. [caption id=“attachment_10453601” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Representational image. News18[/caption] As per Deccan Chronicle, some of India’s most savvy early internet users gained huge followings by posting reviews of products on the platform, but most don’t disclose their links to companies. The Centre’s plan is to put an end to fake or paid reviews from products ranging from cars to smartphones on social media and e-commerce sites, as per the report. Rohit Kumar Singh, the most senior bureaucrat at the consumer affairs department, told reporters in New Delhi on Wednesday the Centre will announce a framework of regulations targeting people paid to endorse merchandise. Such persons will be held liable in case of issues related to the product, he added. Sources told News18 the decision is aimed at protecting the consumer from any kind of false claims.

“Anyone who is a social media influencer and pushing any particular brand will now have to come clean," sources added.

Influencers will need to put disclaimers in such endorsement posts, sources told PTI. Sources told Hindu Business Line failure to comply could leave influencers facing heavy penalties and that such a move could leave brands re-examining their influencer marketing strategies. The Central Consumer Protection Authority can levy penalties of up to ₹10 lakh on endorsers for “misleading ads” in the first instance, and these can go up to ₹50 lakh in the case of further instances. It can also prohibit them from endorsing any products for up to three years. The US Federal Trade Commission has already enforced guidelines for social media influencers, as per Hindu Business Line. Ambika Sharma, founder and MD, Pulp Strategy, told the outlet the guidelines will lead to more responsible behaviour in the digital marketing ecosystem in the long term, but that it could make influencers more cautious in the short-term. Payal Sakhuja, founder, Ripple Links, an influencer marketing agency that works with leading brands, added, “The influencer marketing segment now attracts big spends from brands. The government’s guidelines will help regularise this fast-growing and unorganised ecosystem. Brands are increasingly doing paid collaborations with creators across all social media platforms. While many large creators already make disclosures about paid partnerships in their posts, these guidelines will ensure disclosures are uniformly made by all creators.” Framework to tackle fake reviews to be released shortly Meanwhile, the department has completed the process of developing a framework to curb fake reviews posted on e-commerce websites. The same will be released shortly. In May, the department along with the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) held a virtual meeting with stakeholders, including e-commerce entities, to discuss the magnitude of fake reviews on their platforms.

Fake reviews mislead consumers into buying online products and services.

The department had then decided it would develop these frameworks after studying the present mechanism being followed by e-commerce entities in India and best practices available globally. Since e-commerce involves a virtual shopping experience without any opportunity to physically view or examine the product, consumers heavily rely on reviews posted on platforms to see the opinion and experience of users who have already purchased the good or service. “Traceability by ensuring the authenticity of the reviewer and the associated liability of the platform are the two key issues here. Also e-commerce players must disclose as to how they choose the ‘most relevant reviews’ for display in a fair and transparent manner,” Consumer Affairs Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh had said In July, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) called upon the government to bring brand endorsers, social media influencers and bloggers under the proposed framework to protect online consumers from fake reviews of products and services. CAIT also argued that rating of a product or service should be made a part of the policy framework for reviews. Consumer Affairs Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh in May held a virtual meeting with stakeholders to discuss the impact of fake and misleading reviews on online consumers and preparation of a roadmap to prevent such a situation. The traders’ body urged the government for an early roll out of a well-defined and robust policy to protect consumers from fake and deceptive reviews for products. It said such reviews influence the choice of consumers to a great extent thereby constitute an act to cheat the consumers for depriving them from getting right value for their spendings. “In this context, the brand endorsers, social media influencers, bloggers on goods and services should be brought under the ambit of policy on fake and deceptive reviews,” CAIT stated. CAIT secretary general Praveen Khandelwal opined that in the current scenario, the trend of purchasing from e-commerce sites is increasing day by day and in the absence of having a physical touch and feel experience, reviews and ratings of goods and services assume significance in impacting the choice of consumers. With inputs from agencies Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.