Panel suggests fine or jail for celebs in misleading ads

In its report on the Consumer Protection Bill 2015, a parliamentary panel has suggested legal teeth to make celebrities accountable for misleading advertisements.

• The panel has suggested legal teeth to the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) to curb misleading ads, besides proposing severe penalties, jail and cancellation of licence of those involved in food adulteration.

Details:

• According to the committee, the existing laws are not deterrent enough to discourage manufacturers or publishers from using such personalities for misleading ads. Therefore, it recommends that stringent provisions may be made in the bill to tackle misleading advertisement, as well as, to fix liability on endorsers/celebrities.
• The committee recommends that for first time offence, the offender may be penalised with either a fine of Rs 10 lakh or imprisonment up to two years or both. For second time offence, a fine of Rs 50 lakh and imprisonment of five years. For subsequent offences, the penalties may be increased proportionately based on the value of sales volumes of such products or services.
• The panel also suggested the government to clearly and comprehensively define the word ""endorsement"" in the bill so that there is no room for any misinterpretation or ambiguity.

Background:

Some celebrities have come under fire for endorsing brands misleading consumers. Recently, Indian cricket captain M S Dhoni had to resign as brand ambassador of Amrapali after residents of a housing society started a protest against the builder and the cricketer on social media.

About Consumer Protection Bill 2015:

• Consumer Protection Bill 2015 seeks to replace the old consumer protection law and proposes to set up a regulatory authority which will have powers to recall products and initiate class class suit against defaulting companies, including e-tailers.
• The key features of the new bill include establishment of an executive agency ''Central Consumer Protection Authority'' (CCPA) which will protect and enforce the rights of consumers.
• The authority will intervene when necessary to prevent consumer detriment arising from unfair trade practices and to initiate class action including enforcing recall, refund and return of products.
• The bill has provisions for ''product liability'' if product/services causes personal injury, death or property damage and will take action against defaulting manufacturers or service providers.
• For speedy disposal of court cases, the bill proposes ''mediation'' as an alternative dispute resolution mechanism. The mediation will be under the aegis of consumer courts.
• The bill also has a provision for setting up of a ''circuit bench'' to facilitate quicker disposal of complaints and there is an enabling provisions for consumers to file complaints electronically and file complaints in consumer courts that have jurisdiction over the place of residence of the complainant.