As of last week, ASCI has received 60 cases from LinkedIn professionals and 56 are being investigated for violations primarily due to non-disclosure of material relationships.
LinkedIn Influencers – A new advisory issued by the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) encourages you to adhere to policies requiring material relationships with the brands, products or advertisers that you promote. It is done to reinvigorate compliance with self-regulatory and legal frameworks and maintain the integrity of influencer marketing.
60 cases of this kind were reported to ASCI just this week by alert practitioners on LinkedIn. 56 of these are pending for infractions, most due to non-disclosure of material links. Such non-disclosures may be violative of ASCI Code, Guidelines for Influencers in Digital Media and Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) Guidelines.
In a viral LinkedIn article this week, I saw a Yes Madam billboard with beauticians who were empowered by the brand and making huge amounts of money. But some of the ads’ posts didn’t mention it was an advertisement. Another user has hash tagged it with ‘#Ad’ after being confronted by Manisha Kapoor, CEO and secretary general of ASCI. The influencers also hashtags such as #collab or #Ad for sharing paid ads with brands.
LinkedIn isn’t like other big social media networks in that it doesn’t have platform disclosure features. For this case, the influencers must also have on them the allowed disclosure words “Ad” or “Partnership” etc. In recent years, there have been a few instances where professionals are raving about some products or services or even an advertisement without letting anyone know that they are the subject of an advertising campaign. Such practices deceive viewers, who might assume the opinion expressed by such practitioners is independent of any collaboration. Some ominous professionals now put The Advertising Standards Council of India in those suspected posts, and that body looks into such cases.
Key Takeaways for Influencers:
- Material Relationship: Influencers need to be transparent if they have any association with an advertiser that might affect the credibility of the post.
- Required Disclosure: Disclosure should be unambiguous, visible and not buried behind hashtags or links.
- Compliance: Influencers need to learn the ASCI Guidelines and CCPA guidelines.
“LinkedIn influencers are veterans and experts in their own fields, so that is all the more reason to encourage them to be responsible influencers. Material connections must be disclosed according to the ASCI Code as well as the CCPA regulations. The alert also reiterates overtly that non-disclosure such as this could end in delegitimization for violators and possibly regulation by regulators. Thank you to the LinkedIn network of professionals who are helping ASCI by sharing such links and keep the advertising ecosystem honest.’ Manisha Kapoor, secretary general and CEO, ASCI.
ASCI provides The Responsible Influencing Playbook, an online certification course designed for influencers to keep up with these rules — which includes sections on the regulation, disclosures, and how influencers can protect themselves. The class aligns with how to develop competencies in responsible influence and build a community of trust and transparency.