Advertisements, in general, are the most basic mode of communication between manufacturers and consumers. Advertisements Create a mass reach to people over a vast geographical area. It is an age-old technique that is utilized in every culture to instill specific thoughts in the minds of viewers to encourage them to buy a product or use a service. Print media such as newspapers, magazines, books, posters, and hoardings, as well as broadcast media such as radios and televisions, and internet media such as social media and websites, can all be used to communicate these messages.
In Dabur India v. Colortek Meghalaya Pvt. Ltd.,[1] When dealing with the issue of deceptive ads, the Delhi High Court established the following guiding principles:
- Advertisements are protected as commercial speech under Article 19(1)(a).
- An advertising cannot be deceptive, misleading, or untrue.
- However, there are certain cases where the advertisement must not be taken as false, but as a glorious representation of one’s own product; and
- Only when the impugned advertisement goes beyond glorifying its product, and is deceptive and misleading, the protection under Article 19(1)(a) would not be available.
What is misleading about advertisements?
At times it has been seen that advertising can mislead the consumers into buying the products. Misleading involves false or deceptive information that is likely to cause the consumers to act in a certain way in which they might not.
Examples of misleading Advertisements could be:
Hidden fees – These are charges that aren’t included in the listed price, such as cell phone activation fees or pre-delivery inspection fees on a new car.
Any part of the advertiser is misrepresented, for example, the company is depicted as a member of a trade group when it is not.
Influence of advertisements on Consumers.
Advertisements are shown in such a way that they can influence anyone to buy certain products and services. These days, advertisements focus on the weak points of a consumer. Chocolates, ice creams, fast foods, etc attract children. The way of presentation of these products is so tempting to them that they urge for it. The downside of the same is that manufacturers do not show the product is going to harm the body.
Youth, these days are attracted by technology. Every month, there is a new launch of a smartphone with slight changes like an increase in performance, the addition of curves in the body of phones making it easy to handle.
A study shows that the more deceptive/misleading an advertisement is, the more attention it gets.
Misleading of advertisements in the educational sector.
The education sector is a benchmark to any industry. It used to be considered a professional sector, but presently it is taken over by businesses and is sold for cash.
Advertisements of institutions like colleges and coaching centers where they publish attractions like placement records and selection promises by showing records of the same.
Colleges provide the placement record of the students which is the basic thing that attracts students to take admission in the college but lacks in providing the information for meeting the criteria for being placed at placement cell. This provides them with half the information and creates misleading. There have been several instances where educational institutions have advertised their false connection and recognition. Various regulations make it illegal to imitate their recognition. Buddhist Mission Dental College was forced to pay compensation to its students for fraudulent affiliation and recognition by the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission in 1994.
Coaching centers these days are in huge business in the name of education. They claim records of students getting admissions in top-tier colleges without any verification by the organization. Thousands of students are enrolled every in these coaching centers where the fess is taken in advance by them with no refund policy added.
How does Consumer Protection Act help the consumer here?
Advertisements that are deceptive or false are subject to legal consequences. The Indian government has taken several steps to combat unethical corporate practices. Legislation has established a set of rules and regulations to regulate advertising standards; yet, owing to a lack of information, society is uninterested in the issue; as a result, misleading advertisements continue to exist.
Consumer Protection Act, 2019[2], The Consumer Protection Act of 2019 was introduced and received the President’s approval on August 9, 2019. This Act repealed the Consumer Protection Act of 1986, and major changes were made in the area of consumer protection, such as product liability, the treatment of e-commerce buyers as consumers, unfair contracts, and the dispute resolution system, such as the establishment of a Central Consumer Protection Authority to take suo moto preventive safeguards for the benefit of consumers, as well as the introduction of mediation for speedy disposal.
Following is an extract of the debates and arguments in the Lok Sabha regarding the Consumer Protection Bill, 2019
“Now to end, I would like to put forward a true example where a woman tried to sue a butter company that had printed the word ‘LITE’ on its product’s packaging. She claimed to have gained so much weight from eating that butter, even though it was labeled as being ‘LITE’. In the court, the lawyer representing the butter company simply held up the container of butter and said to the judge, “My client did not lie. The container is indeed light in weight”. The woman lost the case. From this, it is evident that consumer protection is a crucial and sensitive matter which is to be dealt with with proper caution. I hope this Bill will make concerning changes to make itself more promising” – Shrimati Pratima Mondal (Jaynagar)
Central Consumer Protection Authorit[3]y, promotes, protects, and will enforce the rights of a consumer. It will “regulate matters relating to violation of rights of consumers, unfair trade practices and false or misleading advertisements which are prejudicial to the interests of public and consumers and to promote, protect and enforce the rights of consumers as a class.[4]”. To perform this duty, the Authority has been granted the authority to investigate and inquire into unfair contracts, to take suo moto action, to order product recalls, and to repay the amount paid for faulty products and services.[5]
One of the numerous features added by the 2019 Act is misleading advertising. The repealed Act did not address the issue of deceptive and fraudulent advertising. Misleading advertising is defined in – Section 2(28) of the Act as any advertisement that provides a false description of a product or service, provides a false guarantee, conveys express representation constituting unfair trade practice, or intentionally withholds essential information about the product.
Anyone who publishes false and misleading ads is subject to jail or a penalty of up to ten lakh rupees under Section 21(4) of the Act. The CCPA can ban the endorser of any such misleading and deceptive advertisements from endorsing any other products or services for a period of one year, according to Section 21 (3). The publisher of any deceptive ads is also accountable for the effect of such advertisements to be neutralized.
In Ramesh v Prakash Moped House and Others[6], the Supreme Court of India advised against advertising that utilizes fine print to conceal important information about products and services, thereby deceiving consumers. The National Commission made it plain that it would not take such violations of consumers’ right to information lightly by giving considerable compensation to the customer who was deceived by such advertising. “Advertisements should not mislead and should offer a clear image of the quality of the items sold,” it advises manufacturers and service providers.
There are remedies available to the consumer against the manufacturers for fraudulent practices. A person can claim damages incurred by him due to an unfit, dangerous, defective product, fraud, misrepresentation, etc.
How to Defeat False Advertising.
Determining of exaggerated facts: Always use your reasonable thinking to evaluate a product’s features and whether it is capable of delivering the promised results. If a product claims to deliver remarkable results, don’t trust it at first.
Check the authenticity of items/services: a variety of authentication markings are applied to various products; for example, ISI marks are used to authenticate electronics, and hallmarks are used to authenticate gold jewellery. The University Grants Commission (UGC) also approves educational sectors. As a result, always check the authentication before purchasing a product or using a service.
Don’t forget to look for important details: All pertinent information, including important terms and conditions of an offer, should be included in the ad. These should be expressed in close proximity to the primary assertion, or clearly related to it.
Conclusion:
Advertising has an undeniable influence on customers, which is why commercial advertising should be reasonable and truthful. Despite the fact that the Consumer Protection Act of 1986 was adopted 30 years ago, deceptive ads continue to be prevalent. Because the advertising business plays such a significant role in our economy, it bears significant duties to its customers. Many clients have been deceived by deceptive advertising, which may even be found in highly respected professions such as education and medicine.
Keeping in mind certain points, the Consumer protection act 2019, which has amended a lot of things from the repealed act. CCPA will play a major role in promoting and protecting the rights of consumers against unfair trade practices, decisive advertisements, etc. In the unprecedented times of Covid, where all the things went online, there were seen a lot of unfair trade practices on the side of manufacturers.
Nowadays, the most common way to market a company is through social media, which is heavily influenced by misleading advertisements. Manipulation of ratings, false likes, and comments, sponsored audiences, and other methods are all used to increase the value of a brand. However, the Indian legislature has made numerous measures to prevent corporate unethical behavior, but laws can no longer be effective if the public is unaware of them. It is critical to be aware of this and willing to act against deceptive advertising in order to protect ourselves from misleading advertising.
[1] Dabur India v. Colortek Meghalaya Pvt. Ltd., 2010 SCC OnLine Del 391
[2] Received the assent of the President on August 9, 2019 and published in the Gazette of India, Extra., Part II, Section I, dated 9th August 2019, pp 1-40, No.54
[3] Consumer Protection Act 2019 § 10(1)
[4] 2019 Consumer Protection Act 2019 § 2(34)
[5] Consumer Protection Act 2019 § 20
[6] Revision Petition No. 831 of 2001 NCDRC
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