Self-declaration cert: Confusion in adland

Uncertainty hangs over the advertising industry as the implementation of self-declaration certificates remains unclear. The new regulation requires ad agencies to vouch for the veracity of their advertisements, but confusion remains over who exactly needs to file these certificates.

“This mandate is not designed for the digital world, it's faulty," said a stakeholder, who wished to remain anonymous. "Everyone agrees advertisers should be responsible for their ads. The principle is sound, but the mechanism is broken. Even those who want to comply are struggling.”

According to sources, there was a stakeholder meeting on Wednesday, among the advertising fraternity, who are struggling to decode the MIB mandate and figure out a way to comply with it, effective June 18.

The lack of clarity has left advertisers, ad agencies and other stakeholders in flux. With the Supreme Court on recess until July 8, stakeholders have no option but to wait before making any move seeking relief.

“Until then," the source continued, "it's just confusion and assumptions. We want to comply, but the system, as it stands, makes it difficult for even those who want to do the right thing.”

Another stakeholder from the digital advertising business said the certification becomes problematic, especially for programmatic ads, where the placement of ads is neither fixed nor pre-decided. The issue also extends to influencers who sometimes livestream content that includes ads in the form of 'paid partnerships.'

"How can certification be obtained in that case?" questioned a digital media expert.

There are also questions being raised on the sheer volume of work that needs to be done before an ad goes live.

The news comes amidst growing concerns about misleading and deceptive advertising practices.

This regulation aims to hold agencies accountable for the content they disseminate, but the current implementation appears to hinder rather than help.

The Supreme Court issued a directive on May 7, 2024, that mandated all advertisers/ advertising agencies to submit a ‘Self-Declaration Certificate’ before publishing or broadcasting any advertisement.

Following the apex court’s directive, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has introduced a new feature on the Broadcast Seva Portal of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) for TV and Radio Advertisements and on the Press Council of India’s portal for Print and Digital/Internet Advertisements. The certificate, signed by an authorised representative of the advertiser/advertising agency, needs to be submitted through these portals.

The Self-Declaration Certificate has to be obtained by all advertisers and advertising agencies for all new advertisements that will be issued/telecast/aired/published on or after 18th June, 2024.

However, a buffer period of two weeks has been kept for providing sufficient time to all stakeholders to familiarise themselves with the process of self-certification.

Industry experts warn of potential consequences which include campaign delays and also reduced transparency, given the fact that without clear guidelines, some agencies might resort to avoiding the process altogether, potentially hindering transparency.

Meanwhile, stakeholders have no other option but to wait until the Supreme Court resumes its session on July 8 to see if further clarification is provided. Till then they remain in a state of uncertainty, and it's unclear how the self-declaration certificate rollout will proceed.