SDC: MIB softens stance; to include advertisers’ suggestions in court submission
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) seems to have relaxed its rigid 'no-amendment' stance on the self-certificate mandate, agreeing to consider advertisers' feedback on the issues faced during the rollout. In a meeting held with industry stakeholders on June 25, the ministry shared that it is setting up a core committee to finalize its submission to the Supreme Court on July 9, and will incorporate the advertisers' inputs into its report. “The MIB is positive this time and is interested in minimising the problem being faced by the stakeholders. They also plan to articulate our concerns and present them to the Solicitor General of India when they go to the court with their submission,” said a source who attended the meeting.
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According to those present at the meeting, one proposed solution was to allow advertisers to submit a single self-declaration certificate (SDC) for the entire year, rather than requiring a new certificate each time an ad is published.
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“We also suggested that the certificate should be confined to the food & health products, which the Supreme Court had initially addressed. Why involve the entire advertising industry,” said one of the sources. Another concern raised during the meeting was the technical issues advertisers encountered while obtaining the certificate on both the Press Council of India and the MIB portals. “During the peak hours in the evening, the portals show many errors while loading the certificate. If the submission of the certificate is delayed, we may not be able to go ahead with the advertisement as per the schedule,” said another source. In the coming days, the MIB will hold another meeting with the core committee to draft its submission to the top court. In the earlier meeting with the stakeholders held on June 11, the ministry had clearly stated that no changes will be made to the mandate and a self-declaration certificate will have to be submitted compulsorily. Some stakeholders who attended this meeting had shared that the ministry officials seemed unwelcoming to feedback or suggestions from the industry. The submission of self-declaration certificates was made mandatory from June 18 in accordance with the directions issued by the apex court on May 7. In the declaration certificate, advertisers are required to attest that the advertisement in question does not make any misleading claims and adhere to all applicable regulatory requirements. For digital ads, the declaration has to be put up on the MIB website, and for print ads, the same has to be done on the Press Council of India website.
Tags : Ministry Of Information And Broadcasting Advertising Mib Pib