The new-age digital media is home to over 97 per cent of violative ads in FY26, and online giant Meta alone contributed nearly four-fifths of such problematic campaigns, advertising watchdog ASCI said yesterday in a report.

There were a total of 9,611 ads, which were found to be in violation, of which 97.36 per cent were carried on digital platforms and 2.04 per cent on TV and 0.26 per cent on print media, according to the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) report for the period of April 2025-March 2026.

Offshore betting and real estate emerged as the most violative advertising sectors in 2025-26, as the Advertising Standards Council of India reported a 21 percent rise in cases reviewed during the year amid growing concerns over misleading claims and harmful digital advertising.

According to ASCI’s Annual Complaints Report 2025-26, the self-regulatory body reviewed 11,581 cases pertaining to 9,841 advertisements during the financial year. The number of advertisements scrutinised rose 37 percent over the previous year, with 98 percent requiring modification.

Offshore betting remained the single largest violative category with 6,933 cases, followed by realty with 643 cases, personal care with 576 cases, food and beverages with 331 cases, and products violating the Drugs and Magic Remedies Act (DMRA) with 274 cases.

The report highlighted the growing dominance of digital media in the violations landscape. Digital platforms accounted for 97.3 percent of all advertisements scrutinised, with 82 percent of these being sponsored content on social media platforms. Meta platforms alone accounted for nearly 80 percent of digital violations.

ASCI said 93 percent of the cases processed during the year were identified through proactive monitoring rather than external complaints.

The report noted that advertisements promoting harmful products or situations accounted for 75.4 percent of all violations, while 27.5 percent involved misleading claims. ASCI said the findings reflected an increasing consumer safety risk driven by rapid digital amplification and the spread of restricted or unlawful advertising categories.

The offshore betting ecosystem remained a major concern due to “high-speed content churn, rapid ad creation and cross-platform distribution”, ASCI said. Advertisements were widely disseminated through influencers, affiliate networks, social media groups and messaging platforms, making monitoring more difficult.

Between April and December 2025, ASCI identified 854 influencer violations linked to offshore betting, including accounts entirely dedicated to betting-related promotions.

Influencer advertising violations remained high across sectors. Of the 1,609 influencer advertisements processed during the year, 97.3 percent required modification. More than 54 percent promoted categories prohibited by law or where advertising restrictions apply.

Illegal betting accounted for 54 percent of influencer violations, followed by personal care at 16.9 percent, electronics and consumer durables at 7.9 percent, food and beverages at 6.3 percent, and fashion and lifestyle at 4.3 percent.

ASCI also flagged widespread use of exaggerated and unsubstantiated claims in personal care and food and beverage advertising.

In the personal care category, the regulator observed claims relating to rapid or guaranteed skin transformation, hair growth and instant outcomes without adequate scientific substantiation. It also identified misleading assertions around impossible timelines, manufactured scientific precision, “natural” positioning and superlative claims such as “India’s No.1”.

In food and beverage advertising, ASCI said several brands made unsubstantiated claims related to metabolic health, chronic diseases, fertility, child development and organ function. Products under scrutiny included weight-loss supplements, growth formulas and “drinkable sunscreens”.

The report highlighted concerns around nutraceutical products, which ASCI said increasingly blur the line between food and medicine. Nutraceuticals emerged as the largest subcategory within food and beverage cases, contributing 52 percent of violations, with 96 percent requiring modification.

ASCI said voluntary compliance improved during the year, rising from 83 percent to 86 percent. Television and print media recorded compliance levels of 97 percent.

Sudhanshu Vats, Chairman, ASCI, said the findings reflected a rapidly evolving advertising ecosystem driven by speed, competition and digital amplification.

“This year’s complaints data is the reflection of an advertising ecosystem that is being reshaped by intense competition, speed and digital amplification,” Vats said.

Manisha Kapoor, CEO and Secretary General, ASCI, said proactive digital monitoring had enabled the self-regulatory body to scale up consumer protection efforts.

“In the digital era, ASCI has constantly pushed the boundaries on consumer protection. Our proactive monitoring system has allowed us to act at a scale and speed that complaint-driven models cannot match,” Kapoor said.

She added that ASCI’s collaborations with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the Telangana Real Estate Regulatory Authority had strengthened efforts to curb misleading advertising and improve consumer trust.