False ad claims? Celebs may land in trouble
Celebrities endorsing brands and products need to check the claims better, as they could be punished if claims made in the advertisements turn out to be misleading and false.
A federation of state-level consumer protection bodies has suggested to the Centre, that the celebrities too be made accountable for misleading claims made by brands endorsed by them. “We have submitted a number of recommendations to the ministry of consumer affairs to protect the interests of the consumers. Most important of them is making celebrities accountable for the claims made in the advertisements endorsed by them. This is for the reason that a number of complaints have poured in, in which the consumers have been fleeced by brands endorsed by celebrities,” said Mr Amritlal Shah, chairman of the Consumer Coordination Council, a federation of state-level consumer bodies, which is fully funded by the Central government.
Mr Shah explained that a large number of complaints have come against claims of weight loss or protecting hair loss endorsed by celebrities. “Celebrities should check for themselves if the claims being made are genuine or not,” said Mr Shah, who added that the Consumer Disputes Redresal Agencies should also be vested with suo moto powers to take actions in these cases. He said they have recommended to the government that it should be made mandatory for the products to disclose the production cost and minimum price apart from the maximum retail price.
He also said that his body has also recommended to the government that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India should ban “lifetime validity” advertisements by mobile phone operators, as no case such a claim is true. “The government should regulate and investigate into e-commerce and social media to protect the interest of consumers,” added Mr Shah.
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