Ad Body ASCI Logged Over 2,700 Influencer-Related Plaints Since 2021

Cracking its whip on influencer violations, the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has processed 2,767 complaints since promulgating influencer guidelines in 2021. The violations were registered against brands and influencers for not disclosing material connections. 

Of these, 1,592 were logged in the financial year 2021-22 (FY22), while the remaining 1,175 plaints were registered between April 2022 and December 2022. 

A closer look at the data for FY22 revealed that 24% of the 1,592 complaints were related to the virtual digital assets category, while personal care accounted for 23% of the influencer complaints. The ‘fashion and lifestyle’ segment comprised 16% of the total number of complaints in the fiscal year ended March 2022. 

The trend, however, slightly changed the next year. Of the 1,175 complaints registered in the first three quarters of FY23, ‘personal care’ segment accounted for 33% of the total grievances, while 16% of the total complaints were against influencers from the ‘food & beverage’ category. Influencers operating in the fashion space contributed 9% to the total complaint count in FY23.

From April 2021 to December 2022, Instagram accounted for the biggest chunk of complaints. In FY22, Instagram accounted for 53% of the total influencer complaints, while the Meta-owned social media platform, Facebook, accounted for 65% of the grievances in the first three quarters of FY23. 

Similarly, streaming platform Youtube accounted for 37.8% and 27% of the total influencer complaints registered in FY22 and FY23 so far, respectively. 

Twitter took the third spot on the list, raking up 9% of the total influencer complaints in FY22. However, these reduced to 3% of the total complaints in the subsequent nine months. Facebook accounted for 0.1% of the total influencer complaints in FY22, while it recorded 4% of the total grievances in the first nine months of FY23. 

“The ASCI- Influencer Trust survey establishes that a lack of transparency is one of the most common reasons to move away from influencers. While many brands and influencers declare their affiliations and material connections, it has been observed that many still do not adhere to the ASCI guidelines,” the report said. 

The council also conducted a survey of 820 participants and found that 91% of the respondents trusted advertising. Interestingly, 79% of the polled users said that they trusted social media influencers. The survey also noted that the lack of transparency, repetitive content and over-promotions were the reasons for social media users staying away from such promotions. 

Influencers Under Scanner

In the past few years, online shopping and social media usage have seen a rapid adoption. The traction has seen the rise of many popular social media influencers who cash in on their popularity to sell merchandise and promote other products. 

As a result, many of the gullible users trust these celebrities to guide their purchasing decisions. In some cases, the products are clothes, while, in other cases, it is the hard earned savings of the viewers. The matter caught national attention after it emerged that many finfluencers were promoting crypto products such as Vauld, which tanked in the aftermath of the Terra Luna crash.

This also comes days after the Ministry of Consumer Affairs released new guidelines related to influencer marketing that would make these social media celebs liable to pay hefty fines of up to INR 50 Lakhs if they are found violating the guidelines.

According to the government estimates, the Indian social media influencer market in India was pegged at INR 1,275 Cr in 2022 and is projected to soar to INR 2,800 Cr by 2027.