Print & TV show highest compliance, digital media accounts for 94% of ad violations: ASCI

Complaint turnaround time reduced by 46%, says ASCI

by e4m Staff
Published: May 29, 2025 9:05 AM | 2 min read

The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has reported that 94.4 percent of all advertising violations in FY 2024–25 were found on digital platforms, while traditional media such as television and print continued to show high compliance with advertising norms.

According to ASCI’s annual complaints report, print accounted for just 2.4 percent and TV for 2.6 percent of the total 7,078 advertisements that required modification, compared to the overwhelming majority on digital platforms. Other platforms, including outdoor and radio, made up 0.6 percent.

The compliance rate stood at 98 percent for print, 97 percent for TV, and 81 percent for digital. Platforms with high digital violations included Meta, e-commerce sites, websites, Twitter, mobile apps, property portals, and email services. Google, LinkedIn, and OTT platforms reported the least number of violations among digital media.

To handle the increasing volume of digital complaints and respond to the short-lived nature of modern advertising campaigns, ASCI has reduced its average complaint turnaround time (TAT) by 46 percent. The average TAT now stands at 16 days from complaint receipt to resolution.

“In the digital era, ASCI has constantly pushed the boundaries to deliver on the most important areas of consumer protection. Our focused efforts on betting and gambling, working together with the government, are a good example of all stakeholders being committed to making a difference. We will continue to focus on areas of high impact and build our expertise in monitoring the advertising landscape,” said Manisha Kapoor, CEO and Secretary General of ASCI.

She attributed the improved resolution time to a rise in uncontested claims and more efficient processing of contested complaints.

The report also noted that many digital brands do not have dedicated legal or marketing teams. ASCI’s case officers engaged directly with such advertisers to explain the potential code violations, leading to a higher rate of voluntary compliance.

In FY 2024–25, 59 percent of ads flagged by ASCI were resolved without advertisers contesting the complaints, compared to 49 percent in 2023–24 and 37 percent in 2022–23. These cases were closed once the advertiser confirmed a no-contest decision and the complaint did not proceed to ASCI’s Consumer Complaints Council.