ITV

Category: Social Media

  • ASCI unveils final guidelines for influencer advertising on digital media

    ASCI unveils final guidelines for influencer advertising on digital media

    Mumbai: Advertisers now have a clear set of guidelines on which they can base their influencer driven ads/commercials. Industry watchdog – the Advertising Standards Council of India (Asci)  –  unveiled the final guidelines for influencer advertising on digital media today. The ombudsman had initially released some draft guidelines  in February and sought feedback from all stakeholders – advertisers, agencies, influencers and consumers. Asci then incorporated the responses before drawing up the final framework.    To ensure a collaborative process and expert inputs, ASCI tied up with Big Bang Social, a leading marketplace for social storytelling, to get India’s leading digital influencers’ views on board.

    The new rules will become applicable to commercial messages or advertisements published on or after 14 June 2021. The guidelines clearly lay out the definitions for the terms influencer, virtual influencer, material connection and digital media. Asci has introduced  Asci.social platform- a digital platform that will house information about the rules applicable to the  community of influencers, marketers, agencies and consumers. Additionally, all promotional content in which they feature will have to mandatory  be labelled as such by the influencers. Asci has roped in Reech, a French technology provider to monitor potential violations of the guidelines.

    GUIDELINES:

    Disclosure: All advertisements published by social media influencers or their representatives, on such influencers’ accounts must carry a disclosure label that clearly identifies it as an advertisement.

    Criteria for disclosure :

    a. Disclosure is required if there is any material connection between the advertiser and the influencer.

    b. Material connection isn’t limited to monetary compensation. And includes anything of value given to mention or talk about the Advertiser’s product or service, like free or discounted products or service or other perks

    c. a disclosure is needed even if they weren’t specifically asked to talk about that product or service.

    d. Disclosures are required even if the evaluations are unbiased or fully originated by Influencer, so long as there is a material connection between Advertiser and Influencer.

    e. If there is no material connection and the influencer is telling people about a product or service they bought and happen to like, that is not considered to be an advertisement and no disclosure is required on such posts.

    · Disclosure must be upfront and prominent so that it is not missed by an average consumer

    · Any one or more disclosure labels can be used: advertisement, ad, sponsored, collaboration, partnership, employee, free gift

    · If the advertisement is only a picture or video post without accompanying text (such as Instagram stories or Snapchat), the disclosure label needs to be superimposed over the picture/video

    I. For videos that last 15 seconds or less, the disclosure label must stay for a minimum of 3 seconds.

    II. For videos which are 2 minutes or longer, the disclosure label must stay for the entire duration of the section in which the promoted brand is mentioned.

    · In live streams, the disclosure label should be announced at the beginning and the end of the broadcast.

    · In the case of audio media, the disclosure must be clearly announced at the beginning and at the end of the audio, and before and after every break that is taken in between.

    · The disclosure should be in English OR in the language as the advertisement itself in a way that is easy for an average consumer to understand.

    Responsibility of disclosure of material connection and also of the content of advertisement is upon the advertiser for whose product or service the advertisement is, and also upon the Influencer.

  • MeitY seeks compliance details of new IT rules from large social media platforms

    MeitY seeks compliance details of new IT rules from large social media platforms

    KOLKATA: Fears of social media platforms being switched off for not complying with the  new Indian  IT rules applicable to them from today (26 May) proved unfounded. However, they cannot rest easy as the ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY) has written to “Significant Social Media Intermediaries” (SSMI) asking for details of compliance.

    Under the new “the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Ethics Code) Rules, 2021,” SSMIs have been defined as social media companies with more than 50 lakh registered users. Hence, Twitter, Facebook, Facebook-owned WhatsApp and Instagram fall under the SSMIs category.

    The government has asked all SSMIs to provide name of app/ website/ service falling within the scope of significant social media intermediary, the details of chief compliance officer, nodal contact person, resident grievance officer and the contact details of all the officers. It has also sought details of compliance status of these rules.

    MeitY has asked for a prompt reply, “preferably today itself.”

    The new set of guidelines came against the backdrop of growing tensions between the government and the social media platforms. “The basic essence of these guidelines is a soft touch oversight mechanism, where we are insisting upon the platforms to develop a robust mechanism for timely redressal of grievances,” said union information technology minister Ravi Shankar Prasad.

    According to the government data provided at that time, India has 53 crore WhatsApp users, 44.8 crores Youtube users, 41 users on Facebook, 21 crores users on Instagram and 1.75 crores on Twitter.

    As part of new IT rules, the government also asked the significant social media intermediaries providing services primarily in the nature of messaging “to enable identification of the first originator of the information.”

    This is something that has riled messaging service  WhatsApp which has filed a lawsuit in the Delhi High Court on Tuesday against the rules that will require it to “trace” the origin of messages sent on the service, which it says is a violation of privacy.

  • IT whiplash for social media for missed deadlines?

    IT whiplash for social media for missed deadlines?

    KOLKATA: Social media platforms in India, barring Koo, failed the compliance test of the Indian government to appoint grievance officers in India as the three month deadline expired today (May 26).

    Many international online platforms, including Twitter, were in regular conflict with the government amidst a heightened scrutiny and complaints over privacy in the last one year. In the latest such incident the Delhi Police raided the micro-blogging site’s Delhi office on Monday.

    Facebook too has had its fair share of controversies, and backlash from both opposition and ruling political parties in the country.

    Given this situation, the government issued new intermediary guidelines for social media platforms last February with a three-month deadline for compliance. It had directed intermediaries to appoint a grievance officer based out of India for timely redressal of complaints by users.

    As per the rules that came into force today, every social media intermediary was required to appoint a chief compliance officer and a nodal contact person for 24/7 coordination. They were also directed to publish monthly compliance reports with details of complaints received and commensurate action taken.

    The rules come into effect from today (26 May) but no other social media giant has complied with the new rules barring Koo. The question being asked by Indian consumers is whether these intermediary platforms will be banned now?

    As a first step, the government may serve show cause notices upon these platforms while asking about the reasons in delay (read non-compliance). The act and the rules empower the government to force stop a particular platform from operating access in India but, it is very unlikely that the government will invoke the same at the very first instance, according to a legal expert. “Most of the intermediaries are in the process (read various stages) of complying with the rules,” he added.

    “We aim to comply with the provisions of the IT rules and continue to discuss a few of the issues which need more engagement with the government. Pursuant to the IT Rules, we are working to implement operational processes and to improve efficiencies. Facebook remains committed to people’s ability to freely and safely express themselves on our platform,” a spokesperson for  Facebook said on Tuesday.

    Social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter have hitherto enjoyed the status of “intermediaries” under the IT Act, 2000, and were exempted from the liabilities that would otherwise accrue for publication of illegal content,  according to  partner at Bharucha & Partners Kaushik Moitra.

    As per the provisions of Section 79 of the IT Act, 2000, “an intermediary shall not be liable for any third-party information, data, or communication link made available or hosted by him.”

    Simply put, an intermediary is not liable for any content posted on its platform by a third-party if it is merely facilitating the transfer of information between third-parties, Moitra explained.

    Social media platforms are welcome to do business in India, but they are also required to practise “due diligence” under the new guidelines, failing which safe harbour provisions do not apply to them, union information technology minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had said at the time of introducing the rules. The rules in India go beyond a single content moderation body and have mandated a more complex institutional structure to regulate information flow through intermediaries, BMU Law school dean Nigam Nuggehalli pointed out.

    “It’s not merely the appointment of officers but the bureaucratic structure that comes with it-maintenance of records, hearings and government scrutiny- that must be reviewed carefully to ensure a balance is maintained between discouraging abuse and fake news on the one hand and innovation and creativity on the other,” he further added.

    The IT Rules, 2021 themselves do not set out any penalties for non-compliance of their stipulations. The provisions of the IT Act, 2000 are relevant, Moitra clarified.

    “The government may decide to (i) revoke the ‘intermediary’ status of the social media platforms, therefore taking away the immunity enjoyed by them; (ii) per the IT Act, 2000, the penalty for failure to furnish information, return, etc. as required under the Act or the Rules, ranges from Rs 5000 – Rs 10,000 for every day during which such failure continues; and (iii) otherwise for contravening any rules or regulations made under the IT Act, the social media platforms may be required to pay a compensation or penalty of INR 25,000.

    Additionally, the government may issue blocking orders against such non-compliant platforms under the IT Act,” he added.

  • Rollback WhatsApp’s new privacy policy: GOI to Facebook

    Rollback WhatsApp’s new privacy policy: GOI to Facebook

    KOLKATA: The union ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY) has sought the withdrawal of the controversial new privacy policy sought to be introduced in India by the Facebook owned messaging service platform WhatsApp.

    A notice issued to the social messaging platform has sought a reply by May 25, 2021, while noting that an unsatisfactory response may prompt legal action against the internet based application. The Indian government has previously banned several (similarly popular) web supported gaming applications emanating from neighbouring China after the Chinese military incursions into India’s sovereign territory resulted in lives of military personnel on both sides being lost.

    The new privacy policy was initially expected to come into effect on 8 February but was deferred to 15 May in the wake of a severe backlash from users. WhatsApp intended to make it mandatory for users to agree to new data-sharing norms including one, it is alleged, that would result in sharing of data from WhatsApp business chats with third-party applications including its parent Facebook. 

    The advisory issued by the ministry on Tuesday noted, “The deferral (to May 15) does not absolve (read indemnify) it from respecting Indian users’ choice, the value of data security and informational privacy.”

    MeitY is also unhappy with WhatsApp’s alleged discrimination between Indian and European users in the context of the same policy. According to the ministry, it is highly irresponsible of WhatsApp to leverage its position to impose unfair terms and conditions on the large number of Indian users using the messaging application for day-to-day communication purposes.

    “In fulfilment of its sovereign responsibility to protect the rights and interests of Indian citizens, the government of India will consider various options available to it under laws in India,” the notice further stated. India constitutes the largest consumer base of WhatsApp with over 400 million subscribers resident here. 

    The private messaging platform has previously tried to allay fears over the privacy update stating that it was restricted to users of its business services and would in no way compromise the end-to-end encryption services offered by the application. “We’ve spent the last few months working to clear up confusion and misinformation. As a reminder this update does not impact the privacy of personal messages for anyone,” WhatsApp has repeatedly stated through recently issued advisories.

  • Roposo founder launches CloseAPP to aid Covid relief

    Roposo founder launches CloseAPP to aid Covid relief

    KOLKATA: Roposo founder Mayank Bhangadia has announced the launch of CloseAPP – a hyperlocal social app to help people across the country as they combat the devastating second wave of Covid-19. The new app will help people to connect with each other virtually and get medical help in real-time. The launch comes at a time when people are increasingly turning to social media to meet their medical emergencies.

    CloseAPP users can seek help by posting their requirements on the app and learn about the availability of Plasma, Oxygen, ICU Beds, Vaccines, and Ventilators around their location. Bhangadia created this app with former colleague Harsha Chhabra, who led product development at Roposo and also founded GoParento. The team was supported by many Covid volunteers in the initiative.

    “During my Covid crisis, I realised that current social networks aren’t as efficient in connecting help seekers with volunteers within one’s neighbourhood, nearby societies, or geo-location. Some posts get viral, but many times the useful resources get exhausted by the time they reach the masses. So, we felt there was a need to create an open, decentralised platform to help people connect hyper-locally with one another and get immediate help,” explained the Roposo founder, who is also building an active community of volunteers and alongside building a robust Technology Team. 

    India set another grim record on Wednesday, after losing as many as 4,529 lives during the last 24 hours. Over 2.67 lakh news cases were recorded across the country, according to the government.

  • Clubhouse for android to arrive in India this Friday

    Clubhouse for android to arrive in India this Friday

    KOLKATA: Android users in India can finally come out of Clubhouse FOMO as the invite-only audio chat is debuting on Friday, after a week it launched the beta version in the US.

    As the start-up’s android expansion continues, it will roll out in Japan, Brazil, Russia on Tuesday, followed by India and Nigeria on Friday. However, it will remain invite-only both on android and iOS despite the mass rollout. “Globe with meridians Rest of world throughout the week, and available worldwide by Friday afternoon,” the tweet added.

    While it has taken its home market by storm with top Silicon-valley execs, popular Hollywood stars, artists jumping on the bandwagon, its impact in India is still very limited with less than a lakh iOS users. This move could be critical in the Indian expansion as the market has a lion’s share of android users, despite the increasing footprint of iPhones in India.

    The development comes at a time when the download numbers have plateaued. Globally its downloads peaked in February with 9.6 million downloads. However, it has gradually come down to 9 lakh downloads in April, as per Sensor Tower data.

    The app saw 42,000 in February followed by 20,000 in March and 14,000 downloads in April in India – a gradual decline.

     

     

    In a tweet, the company said it is working on feature parity with iOS for android users. Earlier this year, the app revealed its plans to launch in India. Clubhouse is now facing stiff competition in the category as Twitter has rolled out its Spaces on a larger scale, Facebook is also working on a live audio chat feature.

    Adoption, penetration can be of a lesser challenge for the audio-based social apps compared to acceptance and usage which will be driven by content on the platforms, a senior digital market executive said earlier.

    “The good thing about this period is that it has shown us how universal voice is as a medium. The same types of rooms that we saw forming last year in the U.S. quickly started forming in Japan, Brazil, and Nigeria. Farmers in rural Georgia have been making friends with entrepreneurs in Tanzania. Film clubs have formed in India,” the company stated in a recent blog post along with examples of many other communities.

    Throughout this period, it felt the need to be cross-platform more strongly than ever, the company added.

  • Twitter Blue: A subscription-led future of Twitter?

    Twitter Blue: A subscription-led future of Twitter?

    KOLKATA: Is Twitter gearing up to launch a subscription service? Yes, say reports. The microblogging site is considering the launch of Twitter Blue priced at $2.99 per month, according to an independent researcher.

    One of its most interesting features is “undo tweet” which could allow users to prevent a tweet from being sent. Users can even customise time intervals for undoing tweets. The subscription model also includes planned features that would help users to save and organise tweets into collections.

    The company has been gradually taking multiple steps in recent times to explore other revenue streams as its advertising-led model is facing several new challenges. For example, Apple’s recently launched App Tracking Transparency for all iPhones with iOS 14 forcing developers to ask users for permission before they can track them. Twitter is now asking users to give consent for tracking to ‘keep ads relevant’.

    Earlier this month, it acquired Scroll, a subscription service that removes ads from participating news sites. It “will become a meaningful addition to our subscription work as we build and shape a future subscription service on Twitter,” Twitter product vice president Mike Park wrote in a blog post after the acquisition.

    Twitter reported $1.04 billion in revenue for the first quarter of 2021, up 28 per cent year-on-year. It also posted a profit of $68 million, turning back its business from $8.4 million in losses a year ago. Advertising revenue totalled $899 million, an increase of 32 per cent and total ad engagements increased 11 per cent year-over-year. However, monetizable daily active users (mDAU) grew about 20 per cent to 199 million, falling slightly below the analysts’ expectation of 200 million

  • Twitter launches state-specific Covid updates to aid patients, families

    Twitter launches state-specific Covid updates to aid patients, families

    New Delhi: Microblogging platform Twitter has launched new state-specific Covid-19 pages in the country that surface the latest tweets from people asking for SOS resources, as well as those offering help.

    The social media giant currently has seven state-specific pages available in the places hardest hit by the lethal virus — Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Punjab. 

    “You will find bi-lingual tweets on these pages in both English and the official state language,” the company said in an update.

    Twitter said that it is partnering with news and media organisations as well as journalists across India to bring the latest, most credible news about Covid-19 to your timeline. It has also launched an interactive series called #AskTheDoctor in collaboration with the team of Editorji.

    National broadcaster Doordarshan also live-streams its daily show called #DoctorsSpeak on Twitter, where doctors answer frequently asked questions about Covid-19, including those via tweets using the hashtag.

    Developers in India are building creative tools and apps using the Twitter API to help people source information about medical services, oxygen, medicines, food, and more. 

    “We’ve been working closely with developers to ensure their services are able to have the widest impact, and reach the most people while operating in compliance with Twitter’s developer policies,” Twitter added.

    It went on to explain that these tools are built using the Twitter API and make use of Twitter’s Advanced Search functionality by providing easy-to-use filters that help people navigate tweets about Covid-19 in real-time by applying location filters or other search parameters.

  • No accounts will be deleted because of the new update, says WhatsApp

    No accounts will be deleted because of the new update, says WhatsApp

    New Delhi: Facebook owned instant messaging platform WhatsApp has clarified that it will not delete Indian user accounts that do not accept its new privacy policy.

    The app had earlier told users that if they do not accept the new update by 15 May, they would lose access to their accounts.

    “No accounts will be deleted on 15 May because of this update and no one in India will lose functionality of WhatsApp either. We will follow up with reminders to people over the next several weeks,” said the messenger in a statement.

    The controversial privacy policy was initially expected to come into effect on 8 February but was later deferred to 15 May amid severe backlash from users. The app plans to make it mandatory for users to agree to its new data-sharing norms, a key point of which is allegedly sharing data from WhatsApp business chats with third-party apps including its parent Facebook. 

    India is WhatsApp’s largest market with over 400 million subscribers.

    The messaging platform has previously tried to assure users that the privacy update – which is for users of its business services – does not compromise its end-to-end encryption.

    “We’ve spent the last few months working to clear up confusion and misinformation. As a reminder this update does not impact the privacy of personal messages for anyone,” WhatsApp said recently.

    Meanwhile, the Delhi high court has sought a response from the government as well as Facebook and WhatsApp on a petition that challenged the new policy. The court has issued notices to the Centre, Facebook and WhatsApp and sought their stand on the petition by 13 May – two days before the policy comes into effect.

    Earlier, the court had dismissed the plea filed by Facebook and WhatsApp challenging the Competition Commission of India (CCI) order directing a probe into its controversial new privacy policy. According to CCI, WhatsApp’s new privacy policy would lead to excessive data collection and “stalking” of consumers for targeted advertising to bring in more users and is therefore an alleged abuse of dominant position.

  • Facebook scamsters now using duplicate IDs for ‘friend in need’ con

    Facebook scamsters now using duplicate IDs for ‘friend in need’ con

    MUMBAI: Facebook users beware! There’s a scam gathering pace once again on the social network. And the deceivers are borrowing it from the email phishers who conned many an unsuspecting innocent in the past. At that time, the rogues would pretend to be someone else you knew, and would send you an email sounding desperate, asking you for money as they were in a spot. Many got suckered and parted with their cash.

    In the case of Facebook, the con is about these fraudsters creating a duplicate account of individuals and then putting out friends’ requests to the original account owner’s network. The page looks exactly like the original account with similar pictures; the only difference, the fake account has less friends and family connections.

    Once someone adds the fake account as a friend, the impostor keeps asking you for money via Facebook messenger urgently in multiples of Rs 15,000, saying he is in a spot of bother. The first option, he urges you, is to transfer money via Google Pay, the second via PhonePe. And then he is even open to getting the cash to his phone through bank transfer via Airtel Payments Bank.

    All along, he keeps sticking to his tone of familiarity – since he has stolen the identity of someone you know – and urgency, saying he is in the hospital with a friend who has met with a major accident.

    The only way to find out if it is a swindle that’s about to happen is to have a strong heart and not fall for it. Call the original Facebook account holder and ask him or her whether he or she really needs the money. And that will break the cheater’s fake story.

    Many have fallen for this hustle and lost their dough. And there’s no getting it back. For once, you transfer the money, it’s gone. The wheeler dealer deletes the fake account quickly or makes it private. Even his direct messages to you vanish into thin air. And you are that much poorer for your goodness to help someone you thought was a friend or family member in need.

    So please tread with caution when someone on a social network asks you for money; don’t say we did not warn you.