India’s advertising authority has come down hard on adverts for cryptocurrency-related products and services, which have inundated television screens in recent months touting quick money, simple trading, stable returns, and more.
The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has published regulations for commercials including crypto or virtual digital assets. These guidelines will take effect on or after 1 April 2022. After 15 April 2022, all previous advertisements must adhere to the new criteria or be removed from the public domain.
Furthermore, to develop the standards, the ASCI stated it undertook thorough consultations with various stakeholders, including authorities and the virtual digital asset business.
- All advertisements for VDA (virtual digital asset) products, VDA exchanges, or featuring VDAs must include the following disclaimer: “Crypto products and NFTs are unregulated and can be highly risky. There may be no regulatory recourse for any loss from such transactions.”
- Consumers link the phrases “currency,” “securities,” “custodian,” and “depositories” with regulated commodities, hence the words “currency,” “securities,” “custodian,” and “depositories” must not be used in ads of VDA products or services, as per the rules.
- The rules also demand that data on the cost or profitability of VDA products be clear, precise, sufficient, and stay updated. “Zero cost,” for instance, must encompass any charges that the consumer could properly connect with the product or activity.
- In order to ensure that data on previous operations are not supplied in any incomplete or biassed manner, the guidelines provide that “returns for periods of less than 12 months shall not be included” in advertisements.
- Several crypto-related adverts, according to India’s advertising commission, don’t really appropriately communicate the hazards involved with such items.
India attempts to stop misleading advertising on cryptocurrency
In November 2021, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi convened a meeting with the RBI brass and the Ministries of Home Affairs and Finance to discuss the supervisory prospects for cryptocurrencies, and a strong common ground was achieved to halt “attempts to mislead the youth through over-promising & non-transparent advertising.”
In perspective, considering the marketing for cryptocurrency exchanges and trading on their platforms saturating the nation, especially during recent cricket matches, the government was likely to introduce some policy structure to bring them in and secure investors from losing their money.