ASCI's nod to “Paid Partnership” tag on Instagram as adequate disclosure for influencer advertising

The Advertising Standards Council of India, the advertising regulatory body, has said that the paid partnership tag that influencers carry in their advertorial posts on Instagram meets the principles of the ASCI guidelines for influencer advertising on digital media.

ASCI, therefore, will consider the Instagram “Paid Partnership” tag as an acceptable alternative to its disclosure labels, as per a release. This decision will reduce the burden on brands and influencers and will encourage greater compliance from all parties. 

ASCI had released the guidelines for influencer advertising in India on June 14, 2021.

After extensive feedback from all stakeholders – advertisers, agencies, influencers, and consumers, the guidelines were framed which are applicable to commercial messages or advertisements published on or after the aforementioned date.

The guidelines make it mandatory for influencers to label the promotional content they post and ensure that it is identified as paid promotion.

Post releasing the guidelines, ASCI screened around 5,000 posts until December 2021, over a period of six months, and processed 729 complaints which were considered to be prima facie violations of the guidelines. From the total complaints, ASCI achieved a total compliance of 86%, where influencers modified the posts that were complained against.

The complete set of guidelines can be accessed at ASCI.Social platform.