Influencer and Celebrity Endorsements in India: The Expanding Legal Frontier

Introduction

India’s advertising landscape has shifted profoundly in the last decade. Traditional print, radio, and television campaigns are no longer the sole drivers of brand engagement. Instead, the rise of influencer marketing has transformed the way businesses interact with consumers. Whether it is a Bollywood star endorsing a wellness product, a cricket icon promoting fintech, or a regional micro-influencer reviewing fashion, digital endorsements are now the pulse of consumer decision-making.

With this evolution comes a parallel shift in regulation. The Indian legal system, traditionally cautious in regulating advertising, has had to adapt quickly to keep pace with social media. Today, influencer endorsements are scrutinised under two key regimes:

1. The Consumer Protection Act, 2019 (CPA) and its rules on misleading advertisements and endorsements; and

2. The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) Guidelines for influencer advertising in digital media.

Both frameworks have sharpened the liability landscape, making influencers, celebrities, brands, agencies, and platforms jointly accountable. This article explores the legal architecture, enforcement trends, global parallels, and forward-looking risks shaping this space in 2025.

The Regulatory Architecture

(a) The Consumer Protection Act, 2019 (CPA)

The CPA provides the statutory backbone for endorsement regulation. It expressly defines misleading advertisements, prohibits unfair trade practices, and for the first time extends liability to endorsers themselves.

Under the CPA and the Consumer Protection (Guidelines for Prevention of Misleading Advertisements and Endorsements for Misleading Advertisements) Rules, 2022:

• Endorsers must not make claims that are false, misleading, or unsubstantiated.
• Endorsers must exercise “due diligence” before making claims, which includes reviewing supporting evidence.
• Penalties include fines up to ₹10 lakh (first offence) and ₹50 lakh (subsequent offences), plus endorsement bans for up to three years.
• This statutory clarity signals a decisive break from earlier practice, where celebrities often escaped liability by claiming ignorance of a brand’s representations.

(b) ASCI Guidelines for Influencer Advertising

The ASCI, as a self-regulatory body, complements statutory law with industry-led codes. The ASCI Guidelines for Influencer Advertising in Digital Media, updated in 2023, require:

• Clear disclosure of material connections (monetary or non-monetary) between brand and influencer.
• Disclosures to be upfront, prominent, and platform-appropriate, for example, #ad or #sponsored must appear at the beginning of posts.
• Claims made by influencers to be capable of substantiation, especially in sensitive categories such as healthcare, finance, or education.
• Although ASCI is not a statutory regulator, its findings are often relied upon by the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA), giving them teeth.

The Expanding Scope of Liability

(a) Beyond Celebrities: The Rise of Micro-Influencers: Initially, enforcement focused on high-profile celebrities. However, the growth of micro-influencers in Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets often with deep community trust but less awareness of compliance has expanded the scope of regulation. Regulators now stress that liability is universal, regardless of follower count.

(b) Agencies and Platforms Under the Lens: Agencies managing influencer campaigns are being held liable for failing to ensure proper disclosures. Platforms themselves, while not primary targets, are increasingly expected to integrate disclosure tools and respond to takedown requests. The regulatory trend is toward shared responsibility across the chain.

(c) Strict Standards in Sensitive Sectors:

• Healthcare & Nutraceuticals: Endorsements must be supported by medical or scientific evidence. A fitness influencer claiming “clinically proven results” without studies risks liability.
• Financial Products: SEBI has issued parallel advisories, making due diligence even stricter for influencers promoting trading apps or crypto assets.
• EdTech: Exaggerated claims about guaranteed success or placements have triggered enforcement under both ASCI and the CPA.

Enforcement Trends

(a) ASCI Complaints: Between 2023–2025, ASCI reported that nearly 80% of influencer ads flagged lacked proper disclosures. Categories like beauty, health supplements, gaming apps, and crypto promotions dominate the violation charts.

(b) CCPA Action Against Celebrities: The CCPA has issued show cause notices and, in select cases, fines against celebrities endorsing:

• Nutraceuticals without evidence;
• Quick-loan apps with predatory terms;
• Misleading health devices.
• A significant message is that celebrity status attracts higher scrutiny, not exemption.

(c) Judicial Backing: Indian courts have supported stronger accountability. In consumer disputes, celebrities have been impleaded as co-respondents where their endorsements contributed to consumer reliance. The defence of “personal opinion” is increasingly being rejected.

Comparative Global Insights

India’s approach mirrors international trends but with its own flavour:

• United States (FTC Guidelines): Influencers must disclose material connections; enforcement actions are frequent, with penalties and reputational fallout.
• United Kingdom (CAP Code): Mandatory upfront “Ad” labels; influencers must disclose even minor benefits.
• EU Digital Services Act (2024): Platforms now share responsibility for influencer advertising transparency.
• India, while less punitive than the US, is moving toward stricter statutory enforcement, particularly through the CCPA’s powers.

Compliance Imperatives

(a) For Influencers: always disclose brand associations whether payment, gifts, or bartered benefits. Substantiate all claims with brand-provided proof. Exercise independent due diligence in sensitive sectors.

(b) For Brands: Maintain substantiation files for all claims used in endorsements. Contractually mandate disclosures in influencer agreements. Train influencers on compliance before campaigns.

(c) For Agencies: Implement monitoring tools to audit influencer posts. Maintain records of disclosures as evidence of compliance.

(d) For Platforms: Integrate disclosure tools and promote compliance culture. Develop automated flagging of undisclosed sponsored posts.

Challenges in Enforcement

Despite progress, several challenges remain:

• Subjectivity of Disclosures: What qualifies as “clear and prominent” varies across platforms.
• Volume of Content: Millions of posts make monitoring difficult.
• Informal Deals: Barter arrangements often escape formal contracts, complicating compliance.
• Regional Language Influencers: Enforcement in non-English content is lagging.

These gaps mean regulators will increasingly rely on AI-driven monitoring, whistleblower complaints, and industry co-regulation.

Thought Leadership: What Lies Ahead

As thought leaders in this evolving space, we anticipate three major shifts:

1. Codification of Disclosure Norms: What is today under ASCI’s soft law may soon be codified in binding regulations, particularly in the Broadcasting Bill under consideration.

2. Sector-Specific Regimes: Health, finance, and education may see joint regulation by sectoral authorities (FSSAI, SEBI, AICTE) and consumer regulators.

3. Class Actions Against Influencers: The CPA allows consumer associations to file complaints; group actions against misleading endorsements are inevitable.

For India’s legal community, this presents both risk and opportunity—risk for clients exposed to regulatory action, and opportunity to guide the industry with robust compliance frameworks and dispute resolution strategies.

Conclusion

Influencer and celebrity endorsements are no longer a marketing experiment; they are a multi-billion-rupee ecosystem central to brand strategy. But they are also a regulated activity with personal liability for endorsers.

The twin pillars of the CPA and ASCI Guidelines require transparency, due diligence, and accountability. Ignorance is no longer a defence, and reputational fallout can be as damaging as financial penalties.

For influencers, brands, and agencies alike, the future lies in transparent, substantiated, consumer-first communication. For investors and legal advisers, it is time to integrate endorsement compliance into diligence, contracts, and governance.

In this evolving field, the role of counsel is not just reactive defending against notices but proactive, in designing campaigns that are legally compliant, ethically sound, and reputationally safe.