Introduction:
If social media influencers fail to warn their followers about paid promotions, the government intends to levy fines of up to Rs. 50 lakh against them. Because of their enormous numbers of followers, marketers frequently approach Social Media Influencers on not Disclosing Sponsored Posts with the intention of asking them to advertise their products on their accounts. If the influencers who engage in proxy marketing do not reveal the sponsored promotions they get, they will be forced to deal with some very serious penalties.
According to information provided to IANS by sources with direct knowledge of the situation, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs is planning to introduce updated guidelines for social media influencers on December 24. In accordance with this, they will be required to disclose to the people who follow them on their social media handles whether or not they have been compensated for the marketing of the product that they are highlighting on such platforms.
As of right now, social media influencers are required by law to tell their followers that they are getting paid to promote certain products.
According to the report, if influencers fail to disclose to their followers that they have participated in proxy paid promotion through their platforms, then a complaint against them can be made to the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA), and the authority can impose a fine of up to Rs. 50 lakh upon them.
Influencers on social media platforms may often make uninformed recommendations about things on their social media accounts, including in posts and videos. Through the opinions that they express, they have the ability to subtly persuade their followers to make use of or buy a certain product. Even if, in reality, they do not have a complete understanding of their own products, they nonetheless try to pass it off as though they do. This can result in a variety of undesirable outcomes.
At present time, the government does not have any standards in place to restrict marketing of this sort that are carried out by social media influencers. On the other hand, the government is presently working to formulate regulations that would put an end to this practice. According to insiders close to the agency, the new standards will not be restricted to social media influencers only, but will also apply to celebrities and financial influencers.
The customers are going to be protected from any type of misleading statement by the rules that are going to be established. According to the sources, “everyone who is a social media influencer and is advocating for any particular company will suddenly be required to come clean.”
Conclusion:
Notably, Social Media Influencers on not Disclosing Sponsored Posts who are given free items by firms are required to pay taxes on such things even if they were provided free of charge. If they opt to keep an item such as a car, mobile phone, cosmetics, or apparel after receiving it as a gift, then they are required to pay a TDS fee of percent. However, if the influencers return the goods to the firm after utilizing the services, they won’t have to pay any taxes because they won’t be considered a benefit to the corporation.
