Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology, on Monday addressed concerns flagged by many over the use of government logos in YouTube ads and said these were not endorsements and authorities have been asked to be "more careful" in campaigns by private platforms.
YouTube, in an ad campaign published on the front page of some national dailies, asked consumers to "trust only the real experts," along with photographs and handles of individual influencers on its platforms.
Many users raised questions about the government "endorsing influencers" as the advertisement carried the logo for the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, or MeitY.
"Just to be very clear – this is not an endorsement of any person or any social media platform…@GoI_MeitY encourages all digital platforms to create awareness of Safe and Trust And Accountable Internet and is supportive of all genuine campaigns/advocacy for this but that is not an endorsement," Chandrasekhar said, responding to a tweet on the issue.
"Given that these types of advocacy ads could be misinterpreted, I hv advised more careful use of Govt logos in these campaigns by private platforms," he said.
Just to be very clear - this is not an endorsement of any person or any social media platform. @suchetadalal @GoI_MeitY encourages all digital platforms to create awareness of Safe&Trust And Accountable #Internet and is supportive of all genuine campaigns/advocacy for this but… https://t.co/WqfcGPLeXu
The controversy over social media influencers emerged after reports that many of them were duping people with their advice. That even prompted Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to caution people to be careful.
Currently, SEBI does not have regulations for financial influencers. But the regulator has asked such influencers to register themselves as investment advisers.
According to SEBI provisions:
An individual investment adviser or principal officer of a non-individual investment adviser, registered under these regulations, and persons associated with investment advice shall have at all times a certification on financial planning or fund or asset or portfolio management or investment advisory services (a) from NISM; or (b) from any other organisation or institution including Financial Planning Standards Board of India or any recognised stock exchange in India provided such certification is accredited by NISM.
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