By Alicia Maher
Members of the Indian legislature are still worried that cryptocurrencies are tools for fraudulent transactions. Specifically, lawmakers have expressed their worries regarding crypto ads being shown to the public with claims of unrealistic gains. Hence, it is no wonder that India’s top advertising regulatory board has included crypto ads as part of the ads that need their censorship before they can be aired.
Guidelines Out Now
Today, India’s advertising standards council (ASCI) issued new criteria regarding adverts about digital currencies. Revealing the guidelines through Twitter, ASCI confirmed that the new rules would take effect from April 1, 20222, and apply to all digital asset categories, including NFTs. Part of the statement also revealed that all crypto-related advertisers should include disclaimers in their ads.
Guidelines out now! After extensive discussions with various stakeholders. ASCI has released Guidelines for advertising of Virtual Digital Assets and linked services.
Link to Virtual Digital Assets Guidelines https://t.co/hLUduXR518#Guidelines #Ad #VDA #Crypto pic.twitter.com/lHS3BmQaqr
— ASCI (@ascionline) February 23, 2022
ASCI further disclosed that ads currently aired or that will be aired before April 1 must be taken off air on or before April 15, 2022, unless they’ve complied with the new directive. ASCI also stated that crypto exchange-related ads or products must include the following disclaimer: “there are yet to be any regulation for digital assets, its products, and NFTs. Hence, they can be risky, and we won’t take any blame for loss when you make such transactions.”
The ad regulatory board also defined the font size and color that must be used to include the disclaimer. For ads on social media, the disclaimer text must be retained for the entire duration of the video or picture ad, and it must be written in the primary language of the ad.
Besides, ASCI also revealed that the following terms are no longer allowed to be included in any crypto-related ad (whether for digital asset products or crypto exchanges), “custodian,” “currency,” and “securities.” ASCI clarified that including such terms may make the ad viewers misconstrue the ad for regulated securities.
Clarity In Ads Is Necessary
Also, ASCI stated that profit claims on crypto-related ads must be detailed and devoid of ambiguity. Furthermore, ads must not include profit claims made in less than one year. Thus, “preventing claims of bias or partiality in the information provided for previous performances.”
Head of ASCI, Subhash Kamath, commented on the development saying, “We developed these new guidelines after a series of dialogue with the principal actors in the finance industry and the authorities. It has become imperative as there is need for proper guidance over the public’s perception of this rising technology and digital assets.”
ASCI Warns Celebrities
ASCI also warned famous figures to desist from promoting any crypto-related product or feature in any crypto-related ad unless they have entirely verified the claims made in the ad. The board stated that it wouldn’t hesitate to prosecute any celebrity involved in promoting any misleading crypto-related product or exchange.
Crypto ads featuring various celebrities have been the norm in the last couple of months. ASCI started making the moves to make these guidelines a reality following PM Narendra Modi’s statement that many crypto-related ads are hugely misleading.