Declaring paid promotions must for social media influencers

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 7

Social media influencers will be asked to make disclosures about paid promotions in posts made on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or YouTube. The move is aimed at checking misleading promotion of brands without disclosing these to be advertisements.

The Union Government is coming out with guidelines for social media influencers, which are likely to be announced in two weeks, sources said.

As per the proposed guidelines, if social media influencers endorse any brand after taking money, they will have to declare their association with that brand. A failure to do so would attract heavy penalties. In July, the Confederation of All India Traders had urged the government to bring brand endorsers, social media influencers and bloggers under the proposed framework to protect consumers.

Earlier, the CBDT notified that influencers who receive gifts or benefits will have to pay 10% tax from July 1.

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