Endorsements Know How's: Compliance Beyond Hashtags

1. INTRODUCTION

Social media influencing and marketing has picked up as one of the most rampant forms of promotion and advertising in the recent times. With the unprecedented growth in the users of digital media, marketeers have started to find investments in social media marketing highly lucrative.

In view of this surge of advertisements on the internet, the Department of Consumer Affairs ("DCA"), on January 20, 2023, released a guide 'Endorsements Know-hows! - for celebrities, influencers and virtual influencers on social media platforms' ("Guide"),¹ which is intended to prevent misleading of masses on social media through endorsements in advertisements lead by celebrities, influencers and virtual influencers (collectively, "Influencers"). The Guide has been issued in furtherance of and in alignment with the Guidelines for prevention of Misleading Advertisements and Endorsements for Misleading Advertisements, 2022, which was released by the DCA on June 9,