China Issues Its First Guidelines On Celebrity Endorsements

The legal environment and potential liabilities for celebrity endorsements in China are getting tougher. Five months after Chinese actress Jing Tian was fined RMB 7.22 million for her illegal endorsement of a Chinese brand of pressed candy (for more details, please see our previous article: http://blog.galalaw.com/post/102hvkz/why-brands-and-endorsers-should-both-understand-the-law-on-endorsements-in-china), the State Administration for Market Regulation and six other governmental authorities jointly issued China's first guidelines on celebrity endorsement, the Guidelines on Further Regulating Celebrity Endorsement Activities (the "Guidelines"), on October 31, 2022.

The Guidelines build upon article 38 of the Advertising Law, which stipulates that endorsements or testimonials for products or services in advertisements must be (a) based on facts and compliant with the law, and (b) shall not be made for products or services that the endorser has never used. The