ISA urges MIB to postpone implementation of ‘Self-Declaration Certificate’ mechanism

The Indian Society of Advertisers has written to the I&B Ministry to postpone the implementation of the self-declaration until the concerns are heard by the Supreme Court on July 9. Last week, IBDF requested to extend the compliance period by 45 days.

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  • Storyboard18,
 | June 13, 2024 , 10:46 am
A research report titled The Effectiveness of Tobacco Disclaimers on OTT Content Services by Koan Advisory Group, published in May 2023, found that OTT content does not significantly influence smoking habits in India.
A research report titled The Effectiveness of Tobacco Disclaimers on OTT Content Services by Koan Advisory Group, published in May 2023, found that OTT content does not significantly influence smoking habits in India.

Given the complexities and practical challenges highlighted by various ad and media industry stakeholders in implementing the self-declaration certificate for every ad published on digital, radio, broadcast, or in print, the Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA) has written to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) to postpone the process until concerns are heard by the Supreme Court and a court order is passed.

On July 9 the Ministry will submit an affidavit on the actions taken so far on SDC in the top court. It will also have the opportunity to present reactions of stakeholders to the mandatory SDC directive and mechanism, and their representations.

Read more: Why digital advertisers find Self-Declaration Certificate for ads impractical

In its letter on May 27 and then again in its representation on June 10, and in the meeting with MIB on June 11, ISA acknowledged the responsibility of advertisers to abide by the applicable laws and regulations and engage in truthful advertising but noted the challenges advertisers may face over SDC.

The MIB concluded the meeting of media and ad industry bodies and stakeholders, following the SC order that all advertisers/advertising agencies must submit SDC before publishing or broadcasting any advertisement, on June 11. The meeting saw no resolutions and provided no relief to stakeholders concerned about impact of the SDC mechanism.

Read More: IBDF requests MIB to extend compliance period by 45 days for ‘self-declaration certificate’

The meeting saw the participation of representatives from the Indian Broadcasting and Digital Foundation, Advertising Standards Council of India, Digital News Publishers of India (DNPA), Google and senior media executives.

In its letter dated June 12, ISA noted that the current upload/ platform provided by MIB to submit SDC is not secure, and it seems people could have access to all the materials you upload. Also, the portal is “laggy” and tends to hang a lot. ISA has raised various doubts as well including what happens if the upload is rejected by MIB, and validity period of the certificate. It also highlighted that the process of filling out, printing and scanning the application each time is cumbersome given the quantum of creatives.

Read More: Advertisers fear ‘unviable’ ad self-declaration mechanism will hurt innovation, creativity; Ask for practical solutions

Empathizing with the micro and small entities, it also noted that such individuals and entities may not have the capabilities or resources to provide for access to files on a private cloud.

Read more: Industry bodies to take legal recourse in ‘self-declaration certificate’ matter

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