The Union Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Shri Ashwini Kumar Choubey in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today informed that under the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, a Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has been established w.e.f 24.07.2020 to regulate matters, inter alia, relating to false or misleading advertisements which are prejudicial to the interests of public and consumers as a class.

The CCPA has notified the Guidelines for Prevention of Misleading Advertisements and Endorsements for Misleading Advertisements, 2022 on 9^th June, 2022. These guidelines provide for; (a) conditions for an advertisement to be non-misleading and valid; (b) certain stipulations in respect of bait advertisements and free claim advertisements; and, (c) prohibition of surrogate advertisements.

The Department of Consumer Affairs has also constituted a committee to develop a framework on checking fake and deceptive reviews in e-commerce.

The CCPA has issued 24 notices for unfair trade practices against e-commerce companies and issued two Safety Notices to alert and make consumers cautious against buying household goods like pressure cookers, helmets etc. that do not conform to the Bureau of Indian Standards.

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