REGULATION OF MISLEADING DIGITAL ADVERTISEMENTS, UNDER CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT, 2019

ABSTRACT
India's digital advertising market, valued at over ₹50,000 crore annually, has given rise to
sophisticated forms of consumer deception that older regulatory frameworks were ill-equipped
to address. This article examines the adequacy of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 in
regulating misleading digital advertisements, with particular focus on the Central Consumer
Protection Authority (CCPA) as India's primary enforcement body. Through doctrinal and
comparative legal analysis, the article surveys India's enforcement record against high
incidence jurisdictions such as the United States and Brazil, and benchmark jurisdictions such
as Norway, Germany, and Australia. The study identifies five structural deficiencies in India's
framework: inadequate penalty scales, limited institutional technical capacity, broad platform
safe-harbour protections, a reactive (rather than proactive) enforcement posture, and a
significant consumer digital literacy gap. Targeted legislative and executive reforms including
adoption of turnover-based penalties, establishment of a Digital Advertising Monitoring Unit,
mandatory advertising transparency registries, and a National Digital Media Literacy Mission
are proposed, drawing on international best practices adapted to India's constitutional and
institutional context.