INTRODUCTION

In this digital age, advertising plays a vital role for all companies for showcasing their brands, products or services to the public. However, the advancement and increase in digitalization have resulted in the outbreak of advertising principles. Many advertisers are spreading misleading and false information in ads to get a higher reach. They are using fake lead forms and producing deceptive content. Looking at this scenario, the Indian Government has decided to introduce some new rules and regulations for people working in the digital world to restrain people from such practices. Moreover, these rules are not only for advertisers who specialize in print media, but also for advertisers in broadcasting media and for digital marketers who run Google Ads, Search Ads, YouTube Ads, etc. Hence, everybody in the digital industry abides by these rules. Well, we have mentioned everything about the rules and their procedure. Thoroughly go through this blog, and you will get a better understanding.

Now, let us deeply understand what the latest rules and regulations are for professionals in the digital industry :

Rules & Regulations initiated by the Indian Government for the Digital Realm :

1. Self-declaration Certification

Whether you are an advertising agency or digital marketing services provider, as per the government rule, you need to upload a self-declaration certificate on their portal. A self-declaration certificate basically states that the advertiser or the person who is advertising does not contain any wrong or misleading information in the ad. To fulfil the requirement for the certificate, first, you need to register on the portal. This registration can be done by an advertising agency, its employees and even advertisers. The only thing to keep in mind is that the advertisement that will be run must have a self-declaration certificate. In this certificate, you must mention details about yourself, organization and the advertisement that you will be running. For example, if you are running a print media advertisement, you need to upload a PDF document on the portal, or if your ad is running on YouTube, then you should mention the link on the portal.

 2. Process

a) Click on the link below:

https://cbcindia.gov.in/cbc/advt-reg

b) You will see this form

c) Fill in all the necessary details

d) You can also check the user manual given below for signing up.

https://cbcindia.gov.in/cbc/uploads/mandate/self_declaration_user_manual.pdf

e)

1. Now, for uploading the Letter of Authorization (LOA), we have attached a sample format of LOA.
   • Name of Representative: The person who is uploading the self-declaration form.
   • Designation of Representative: The designation of the representative who is uploading the form.
   • Name of Advertisers/Advertising: Name of the company/agency.

Click on the link to view the sample format along with the guidelines of the self-declaration certificate:

https://cbcindia.gov.in/cbc/uploads/mandate/Self_Declaration_Portal_Guidelines.pdf

3. Key points to remember

• Every media or digital industry producing advertisements abides by the law. In other words, every advertisers/ advertising agency must provide a self-declaration certificate claiming that the advertisement is set under the government guidelines.

• The Authoritative representative who is uploading the self-declaration certificate must ensure that they put all valid details, such as phone number, email ID, etc. Furthermore, they must submit the certificate after signing it on behalf of the advertising agency or advertiser.

• All the required details should be filled in completely and authentically.

• They must upload all the required documents like LOA, full script of advertisement, advertisement video/audio file, and Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) (If available).

• The LOA must be printed on the company’s or agency’s letterhead.

• After completing all details and before proceeding towards submission, you must check that all the details that everything mentioned are accurate and complete.

• After submitting the self-declaration certificate, you will get an acknowledgement receipt.

• People who have already uploaded their self-declaration Certificate can download their self-declaration certificate. For this, you can go to the link below:

https://new.broadcastseva.gov.in/digigov-portal-web-app/

Upon reaching the portal, you will come across this page on which, at the top, you can see “Self-Certification for Advertisers”. Clicking on that, you will go to the login section, where you need to fill in all your details, and after completing, you will see a page where you can select a product/company/ advertisement title. After choosing one option, you can mention the product name/company name or advertisement, and then you will see all the details of the option you have mentioned. From there, you can download the self-declaration certificate. However, if you want to go through this long procedure, then you can refer to the user manual given below. https://cbcindia.gov.in/cbc/uploads/mandate/self_declaration_user_manual.pdf

• Last point to be noted, the self-declaration is not private; it is a publicly open certificate, which means anyone can view from.

Impact of the New Rule on Digital Marketers:

1. Fair & Transparent Practice: The new government regulations will lead to a rise in transparency in advertising practices. Ads with false information will be reduced, and instead of them, more unique and accurate advertisements will be established.
2. Enhanced User Experience: With the amendment of these regulations, the experience of users with the digital world will be improved, as now more reliable ads will be produced.
3. Increase workload: Whenever a working professional in the digital field who is running the ad has to upload a self-declaration certificate, it will increase their workload.
4. Financial Loss: If the advertisers do not adhere to the guidelines set by the government, they may get charged with fees, fines or penalties, which will eventually to monetary losses to the company.
5. Legal Risk: The Government may also take legal action against the
6. advertising agency or advertisers if they did not follow the compliance introduced by the government.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, these laws in the digital industry are essential to reduce malpractices of advertisers/advertising agencies/digital marketers and to increase the spread of correct information among the users. Though this new rule has some disadvantages, such as high work pressure, financial and legal risk, in the end, it will provide an improved user experience. Therefore, every digital marketer/advertiser/advertising agency must read and follow all the guidelines properly and should submit the self-declaration certificate to prevent themselves from any risks.