The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has issued new guidelines for advertisers publishing ads about cryptocurrencies and NFTs, reported Indian Express.
The guidelines will be applicable to all the adverts which were released or published after April 1 this year. At the same time, earlier advertisements are not supposed to appear in the public domain two weeks after the deadline i.e., 15 April 2022 without the added riders, IE reported.
According to the new guidelines, all adverts for virtual digital assets (VDA), VDA exchanges or featuring VDAs must carry a disclaimer that says, “Crypto products and NFTs are unregulated and can be highly risky. There may be no regulatory recourse for any loss from such transactions”.
The regulatory body also made it clear that this disclaimer should be prominent and unmissable and makes different prescriptions for advertisements appearing in different media. It requests advertisers to present information that will be easily understood by customers, wrote Indian Express.
Advertisers were also warned against using such words as ‘currency’, ‘depositories’ and ‘securities’ while advertising VDA products and services because consumers usually associate these terms with regulated products. The information contained in advertisements shouldn’t contradict the information or warnings that regulated entities provide to customers, wrote IE.
Guidelines have also been issued to make recommendations against obfuscating cost and profitability, showing minors in ads about VDA products or projecting VDA products as a solution to financial or personality problems, or playing down the risk associated with these products, among other things.
All these ads will also be required to share name of the advertisers and a method of contacting them, via phone or email. The guidelines also request celebrities to exercise their own due diligence when it comes to the statements they make to refrain from misleading customers.
“All investment ads and campaigns do have a responsibility to educate the users on the risks, the affiliated volatility and liquidity restrictions, and aspects of the asset. Even media, ad agencies, and other supporting ecosystems have the responsibility to educate the same market in a responsible method,” Keyur Patel, chairman of the NFT platform GuardianLink, said in a statement.
“The ASCI guidelines are a step in the right direction to standardise advertisements within the VDA space. The VDA industry is supportive of all efforts towards investor protection, however, there are nuances that need to be addressed as the space is ever-evolving. We will continue to work together with ASCI and other stakeholders to refine them further,” Ashish Singhal, founder and CEO of CoinSwitch, said reacting to the new rules.