What ASCI does

ASCI (Advertising Standards Council of India) is a non-profit, self-regulatory body founded in 1985 and headquartered in Mumbai, established as the advertising industry's voluntary standards-setting and enforcement organization in India. It serves four primary constituencies: brands and advertisers, social media influencers and content creators, consumers, and regulated sectors such as financial services, healthcare, gaming, and cryptocurrency — all of whom interact with ASCI's guidelines and complaint processes. ASCI's mandate covers ad-content compliance across digital and traditional media, with explicit alignment to the IT Amendment Rules 2026 granting it quasi-official standing.

The organization's core products center on the ASCI.Social platform (launched June 2021) and an Influencer Disclosure Tool, supported by a portfolio of guidelines for influencer, health, finance, and (in draft form as of May 2026) AI-generated content advertising. Its enforcement pipeline is anchored by an AI/ML surveillance system — built in partnership with French technology provider Reech since May 2024 — that processes text, image, and video across digital platforms at scale, identifying violative ads in high-risk categories and feeding them into the Consumer Complaints Committee process. In FY26, this pipeline identified 9,611 violative ads (97.36% on digital platforms, with Meta accounting for 79.84% of digital violations; offshore betting the leading sector at 6,933 cases).

ASCI operates as a self-regulatory organization rather than a commercial entity and does not generate product or service revenue. It is funded through industry contributions, governed by an advisory board of industry stakeholders, and led by CEO & Secretary-General Manisha Kapoor, with Sudhanshu Vats as Chairman. Distribution is primarily through self-service digital channels (ASCI.Social platform, complaint portal, advisory services) targeting SMBs, individual creators, and consumers within India; no international footprint is claimed.

Name

ASCI

Legal name

Advertising Standards Council of India

Website

https://asci.social

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

ASCI (Advertising Standards Council of India) is a non-profit, self-regulatory body founded in 1985 that sets and enforces advertising standards across India's digital and traditional media, serving brands, influencers, consumers, and regulated sectors through its ASCI.Social platform, disclosure tools, and AI-powered surveillance operations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Advertising Self-Regulation Services

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Influencer Compliance, Contracts & Rights Management (BPAFAHAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Creator Analytics, Measurement & Attribution Platforms (MPACABAJ)

Keywords

• Advertising self-regulation
• Influencer marketing compliance
• Advertising standards guidelines
• Consumer complaint resolution
• Digital advertising surveillance

Headquarters

HQ city

Mumbai

HQ country

India

HQ region

Asia

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

ASCI operates as India's self-regulatory organization for advertising, providing centralized guidelines, complaint processing, and AI-powered surveillance to ensure advertising compliance. The organization runs the ASCI.Social digital platform, offering influencer advertising guidelines, sector-specific standards for health and finance, AI-generated content labeling frameworks, and a Consumer Complaints Committee for adjudicating violations. Its offerings target influencers, brands, agencies, and consumers across India's advertising ecosystem.

Product overview

ASCI (Advertising Standards Council of India) operates as a self-regulatory organization for advertising standards, offering a platform of services centered around ASCI.Social, which serves as the primary digital hub for influencer advertising guidelines, community engagement, and compliance tools. The portfolio includes the Influencer Disclosure Tool for proper labeling, comprehensive guidelines for influencer, health, and finance advertising, and AI-generated content labeling guidelines. ASCI also provides complaint processing through its Consumer Complaints Committee and conducts proactive AI-powered surveillance to identify violations. The organization functions as a platform-and-process model, combining digital tools (ASCI.Social platform, disclosure tool) with regulatory processes (guidelines, CCC review, complaint handling) to ensure transparency and compliance in India's advertising ecosystem.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ASCI.Social Platform A digital platform serving as the central hub for all influencer advertising guidelines information, community engagement for influencers, brands, agencies, and consumers, along with tools for compliance verification.
• Influencer Disclosure Tool A tool provided on the ASCI.Social platform to help influencers ensure proper disclosure and labeling of promotional content as required by ASCI guidelines.
• Influencer Advertising Guidelines Comprehensive guidelines for influencer advertising on digital media, mandating disclosure of promotional content, due diligence requirements for influencers, and rules for various digital media channels including Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and other platforms.
• AI-Generated Content Labeling Guidelines Draft guidelines for responsible labeling of AI-generated content in advertisements, with a risk-based framework categorizing content as high risk (prohibited), medium risk (mandatory labeling), or low risk (no labeling required). Aligned with Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Amendment Rules, 2026.
• Complaint Processing System System for processing complaints received from the public and other agencies, with ASCI's suo moto surveillance also flagging potential violations for review.

Quantifiable outcome

• 97.36% of 9,611 violative ads were on digital platforms
• +1 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

AI capability7 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• ReechcoreTechnology or Integration · 17 May 2024Partnership with French technology provider Reech to help identify lack of influencer transparency on social media. Reech uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to examine content across digital platforms, with specialized algorithms to distinguish between sponsored and unsponsored content. After detailed testing, monitoring parameters specific to the Indian market were configured and deployed.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) - UK: The UK's self-regulatory advertising standards body with a near-identical mandate to ASCI: enforcing advertising code compliance through proactive monitoring, complaint handling, and sanctions. Most direct international analogue to ASCI's model.
• Ad Standards Canada: Canada's national advertising self-regulatory body, operating with similar functions to ASCI including code development, complaint adjudication, and clearance services. Comparable in scope, governance structure, and self-regulatory philosophy.
• Ad Standards Australia: Australia's advertising self-regulatory organization handling advertising complaints and code compliance. Operates a comparable case-handling model and serves as a peer for international benchmarking in advertising self-regulation.
• BBB National Programs - National Advertising Division (NAD): US-based advertising self-regulatory body that reviews advertising truthfulness and accuracy through a process comparable to ASCI's Consumer Complaints Committee. Both rely on voluntary industry participation and transparency-based enforcement.
• European Advertising Standards Alliance (EASA): Umbrella organization coordinating advertising self-regulation across European countries. Provides cross-border complaint handling infrastructure parallel to ASCI's role in India and could be a partner/benchmark for ASCI's international expansion ambitions.
• Children's Advertising Review Unit (CARU): US self-regulatory program for advertising directed to children under 13. Provides a sector-specific self-regulatory model that parallels ASCI's sector-specific guidelines for influencer, health, and finance advertising.
• Clearcast: UK-based pre-clearance body for TV advertisements. Comparable to ASCI's pre-campaign advisory services for advertisers seeking compliance guidance before campaign launch.

Broad incumbents

• Federal Trade Commission (FTC): US government regulator with statutory authority over advertising truthfulness and deceptive practices. Represents the statutory regulatory model that governments might impose if self-regulation fails; serves as the incumbent benchmark against which ASCI's self-regulatory effectiveness is measured.

Emerging players

• Kofluence: India-based influencer marketing platform with built-in compliance and disclosure management tools. Represents the commercial, tech-enabled compliance alternative to ASCI's framework, signaling potential competitive pressure on ASCI's influencer compliance role.
• Influencer.in: India-focused influencer marketing and brand deal platform. Operates at the intersection of creator marketing and compliance, adjacent to ASCI's influencer regulation mandate and indicative of how commercial platforms are embedding compliance features that overlap with ASCI's role.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ascionline
• Facebookfacebook.com/ascisocial
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-advertising-standards-council-of-india

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ASCI