MEDIA IN CONSUMER PROTECTION

[TRACK - 4]

(By S. Manikandan* and J. Salome**)

(Paper for submission at the National Conference on Consumer Protection NCCP-

2010, organized by Department of Commerce, Loyola College, Chennai, India
during 15th & 16th December, 2010)

* S. MANIKANDAN – smanikandan76@gmail.com
Assistant Professor, Department of Media and Communication
&
** J. SALOME – salome_hai@yahoo.com
Adjunct Faculty, Department of Media and Communication,
Manipal University – Dubai Campus

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 MEDIA IN CONSUMER PROTECTION

ABSTRACT
Globalization and Liberalization has enabled Consumers to realize their important
role in society and governance. The consumer movement in India is very old and there are
references to the concept of consumer protection against exploitation by the trade and
industry. Role of Media is as such of a “watchdog” to highlight the issues and to protect the
fiscal interest of the population and also protect them from prejudice and all forms of
exploitation, harassments and scams in the marketplace. More over a free media helps, and
ensures Consumer Awareness and Protection in the society.
The present study attempts to explore and identify the role and status quo of Media in
Consumer Protection and their problems arising from the given socio - economic set up of
Indian society. A critical appraisal of the media, its privileges and responsibilities; the
limiting factors of the medium in consumer protection and suggestions in making proper
decisions using media have also been attempted.

Keywords: Media, Consumer Protection, Decision Making.

Key References: (8, 9)

1.1 INTRODUCTION
Consumer uses the media to get information, and also the media is being consumed
by the customer. In this scenario, the media has to educate the audience apart from the
information and entertainment it provides. In the social context, how to protect the interest of
the consumer has to be highlighted in media. Communication is the process and procedure to
exchange information by various methods and the media is the instrument or medium of
storing and communicating information. Mass Media and the communication system are
different in every country depending on its economy, polity, religion and culture. In
communist and authoritarian countries, there were serious limitations on the media. Any
criticism about the state was repressed. While in Western countries, people enjoy great
freedom in the sphere of media and communication. Few decades ago, before the era of
Communication Satellites, the national media was the medium of communication all over the
world. With the advent of communication technologies like Satellite and Telecommunication
Networks, came the transnational media and brought with it the facilities of local cable
television, internet, and global information system. In the new democratic states, various

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associations have been formed to fight for just and open media, defend the civil rights and
promote industry reforms. In the wake of the rapid growth and independence of the mass
media, there arose the need of laws and regulations. The legal infrastructure of a country
determines freedom of the media to perform its functions. The International
Telecommunication Union is a regulating agency in the arena of media and communications,
which is the prime agency of the UNO for information and communication technologies. It
promotes the adoption and implementation of fair media laws for the transition from an
autocratic to a democratic society. Every democratic nation has respective laws to regulate
the various branches of mass media.
1.2 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The objective of this paper is to apply an extensive approach to highlight the role of
media in Consumer Protection and evolve certain specific components thereof.
The main objectives of the study are:
• To examine the privileges and responsibilities of Media.
• To analyse the limiting factors of Media in Consumer Protection.
• To offer suggestions to make proper decisions in using Media by the
consumer.
1.3 METHODOLOGY
In order to fulfil the objectives set, secondary data pertaining to the study was
collected from the magazines and journals of Commerce & Industry, and online services. To
know the media pattern several rounds of discussion were held with knowledgeable persons
in the field of Consumerism. By virtue of the mass amount of data from secondary sources
being used, the present report is descriptive and analytical in nature. The suggestion offered
in the final chapter of the research has emerged out of various inferences drawn from case
studies and media reports.
1.4 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The study will highlight the need and importance of Media in Consumer Protection. It
will also help the Government and NGO’s in formulating and forcing regulatory and legal
reforms in this area and achieve its aim of quality services through the media’s dynamic
relationship with the customers.
2.1 WHO IS A CONSUMER?
Consumer is an individual who buys products or services for personal use and not for
manufacture or resale. A consumer is someone who can make the decision whether or not to

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purchase an item at the store, and someone who can be influenced by marketing and
advertisements. Any time someone goes to a store and purchases a toy, shirt, beverage, or
anything else, they are making that decision as a consumer. Consumption is basic to human
survival and it must be socially responsible and sustainable. Therefore, we are all consumers,
whether of goods or of services, whether purchased or otherwise, and whether provided by
the market or public sector.
While buying in the marketplace is one important form of consumption, it is not
necessary to be a customer to qualify as a consumer. While the market has at least some level
of self-corrective mechanisms to meet the demands of customers, it does not have the most
basic democratic channels to meet the demands of its citizens.
2.2 CONSUMER OR CITIZEN
The Nation recognizes people as citizens, whereas markets treat people as consumers
and value them as customers. The status of people as citizens is more primary than their
status as consumers. Thus people’s rights as consumers are interlinked with their rights as
citizens; both need to be pro-actively promoted and protected from predatory factors in the
market and the State. This standpoint also links up the consumer movement with other human
rights movement. In the age of globalization, this realization has become more important than
ever before. Like the former President of Consumers International, Rhoda Karpatkin, said
"Consumer activism is exercising citizenship".
2.3 CONSUMER RIGHTS & RESPONSIBILITIES
Consumers must be provided with adequate information enabling them to act wisely
and responsibly. They must also be protected from misleading or inaccurate publicity
material, whether included in advertising, labeling and packaging or by any other means.
Based on the United Nations Guidelines for Consumer Protection, 1985 the global umbrella
body of Consumers International articulated a set of eight, internationally accepted consumer
rights that need to be actively protected and promoted.
1. The Right to Basic Needs
2. The Right to Safety
3. The Right to Be Informed
4. The Right to Choose
5. The Right to Be Heard
6. The Right of Redress
7. The Right to Consumer Education
8. The Right to a Healthy Environment
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 Consumers International has also articulated some basic responsibilities of all
consumers. The global federation of consumer organizations, leading and building the
consumer movement around the world and promoting consumer interests for nearly half a
century, finds the ethical behavior of transnational companies a central concern for many
years and it is this concern that continues to grow in importance to consumers.
2.4 WHY CONSUMER PROTECTION?
Consumers should be more responsible in protecting their rights. When the business
enterprises cast its shadow on the social scene, the problem arises and the ethical principles to
be governed become a common misguided notion. The consumer movement is just about
‘choice’ - the idea is that consumer concerns begin and end with the comparative testing of
the market.
Citizens need protection of their consumer rights in different ways:
• In the market place against problematic goods and services; against bad trade
practices; exploitative prices and unethical marketing;
• From Governments as supplier of basic goods and services for the poor and
vulnerable consumers; as formulators of public polices so that they are just,
equitable and protective;
• From the State to provide reliable consumer protection structures which ensure
safety against weaknesses of the market and its failures.
Globalization and its various instruments have posed new challenges for consumer
protection especially in developing countries. The greatest challenge for consumer
movement today is to raise strong and effective voice for bringing fairness in free market
economy at local, national and global levels. For the consumers, media is about businesses
responding to consumer demands for assurances that they are ‘doing no harm’ when they buy
products or services; and for that they will not have harm done to them, or to their present or
future environment by advertisements. But ‘doing no harm’ is not enough. Consumers now-a-
days expect media to have a positive impact on the world around them if they are to be
perceived as responsible.
3.1 THE IMPORTANCE OF MEDIA IN CONSUMER PROTECTION
In developing countries, media is essential to fill those gaps which legislation cannot.
Media must see that companies make a positive contribution to areas within their sphere of
influence to improve the governance, social, ethical, labor and environmental conditions of
the developing countries in which they operate. The consumer protection movement and its

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influence and successes are sometimes linked to media reports that have evolved on its own
accord - the manifestation of good-hearted concerns of journalists. In fact, the development
of Consumer Protection has more often been pushed forward not by the consumers and
consumer movement, demanding products and services that have not damaged society, the
environment or workers but by the media which took an active social role on their way to our
doors.
Mass Media has been a key driver of Consumer Protection Movement from the
beginning. They have protested against the abuses of the markets of the eighteenth century,
boycotted the products of complicit companies in different countries, and driven the fair trade
market to its position today. The work of media over the years has done a commendable job,
built on the theme of Consumer Protection through consumer awareness and education at
various levels. Earlier, On the World Consumer Rights Day (WCRD) it was made clear that
the demand for companies to behave responsibly is a universal concern for members of
consumer protection movement. The consumer movement, then, has been a central (although
sometimes overlooked) player in the history of Consumer Protection.
In almost every country in the world, consumers have organized themselves into
powerful organizations to demand their rights and influence companies to behave in a
socially and environmentally responsible way. The media has a unique role to play not just
because of its size, but also because of the unique blend of idealism and pragmatism that it
can bring to Consumers in the Society.
3.2 THE PRIVILEGES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF MEDIA

Evolution of the Mass Media in India has been greatly influenced by the history of
British colonization in India. The first Media and Communication Law in India dates back to
1799 when Lord Wellesley passed the Press Regulation. It imposed pre-censorship on the
newspaper publishing industry. The Press Act of 1835 annulled all the previous repressive
laws on media. Then, the Gagging Act on 18th June 1857 which introduced compulsory
licensing for owning or running of printing presses, empowered the government to prohibit
the publication or circulation of any newspaper, book or other printed material and banned
the publication or dissemination of statements or news stories which had a tendency to cause
furore against the government, thereby undermining its authority. The Press and Registration
of Books Act, 1867 is in force till date. The Vernacular Press Act of 1878 was promulgated
by General Lord Litton, which authorized the government to repress the publication of
seditious writings and to impose punitive sanctions on printers and publishers failing to

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conform the law. The Newspapers (incitement to offences) Act was passed in 1908 with the
initiation of Lord Minto to prohibit publications deemed to incite rebellion.
However, the most significant history of Media Regulations was brought into force in
1950. The colonial experience of the Indians made them realise the crucial significance of
the ‘Freedom of Press’. Such freedom was therefore incorporated in the Constitution; to
empower the Press to disseminate knowledge to the masses and the Constituent Assembly
thus, decided to safeguard this ‘Freedom of Press’ as a fundamental right. Although, the
freedom of the press is guaranteed as a fundamental right, it is necessary for us to deal with
the various laws governing the different areas of media so as to appreciate the vast expanse of
media laws.
The Freedom of Press and the Freedom of Expression can be regarded as the very
basis of a democratic form of government. Every business enterprise is involved in the laws
of the nation, the state and the community in which it operates. Newspaper publishers find
themselves more ‘edged in’ by legal restrictions than many other businesses do – despite the
fact that the freedom of press is protected by the Indian constitution.
The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has set up a Department of Consumer Affairs to
speed up consumer awareness through Media, mass contact, exhibitions, and audio visual
aids and strengthened the measures for the standardisation and quality control of
manufactured goods (Verma 2002). Advertising communication is a mix of arts and facts
subservient to ethical principles. In order to be consumer-oriented, advertisement will have
to be truthful and ethical. It should not mislead the consumer. If it so happens, then the
credibility is lost.
3.3 INCREASED MEDIA INTEREST IN CONSUMER ISSUES
An important aspect of the consumer movement in India in recent years is the
increased media coverage in consumer problems. The major national dailies have started
regular features and columns on consumer issues, including letters of complaints and
suggestions from the consumers.
National policies on economic, social and cultural values were until recently
determined by the States and now the people have increasingly come under the influence of
international agencies and processes. This has led to the narrowed ability of governments and
people to make choices from options in economic, social and cultural policies. Globalization
implies widening and deepening integration with the globe, i.e. with people and processes
abroad. Globalization and Liberalization is widely seen as the most important factor that
could influence economies of nations the world over in the new millennium. The rapid
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advancement in information technology and communications has made it not just possible but
absolutely essential for economies of the world to adapt or fall by the wayside. The socio-
economically disadvantaged are yet to benefit from globalization.
The challenge to overcome the scourge of poverty remains a daunting task. The
support of the poor for reforms and their involvement in the development process can be
achieved only if they start benefiting from government policies. On the positive side,
globalization has compelled developing countries to improve overall economic management,
and make their economies efficient. Despite distortions and aberrations, globalization is a
reality. Developments in information and communication technologies are unifying markets
and people, cutting across barriers of space and time.
How do consumers make purchase decisions are a fascinating subject to be studied.
Family, as a conglomerate of several individuals, influences the purchase of various products.
The influence of family in the purchase decision-making depends upon the cultural
background. The attempts by the media to fill this gap and provide a comprehensive analysis
of the purchase behaviour only serve the business organizations. However, little attention is
paid to the responsibility of the media to protect consumers.
Furthermore, media attention is mainly directed at the responsibility of individual
consumers - particularly those deemed most at risk of being harmed by unethical business
practices - to limit the amount they consume. The media depictions simultaneously foster a
sense of individualized responsibility and normalize the risk posed, which is made to appear
virtually inevitable, something that requires management, partly by the state, but mostly by
vulnerable consumers.
It is also evident that the type of consumers belonged to different socioeconomic
background has indifferent attitude, to a larger extent, on the one hand, and the ignorance of
marketers' responsibilities under various laws and the concept of modern marketing on the
other, which is further complicating the consumer-media relationships in rural and urban
areas.
4.1 LIMITING FACTORS OF MEDIA IN CONSUMER PROTECTION
Media role in highlighting the consumer interest can go far to the extent of influence it
has over the society. Media consumerism itself is a limiting factor in Consumer Protection.
Consumer response to media is an attempt to understand and predict human actions with
regard to purchase decisions. Today's customers are becoming harder to please. They are
smarter, more price conscious, more demanding, less forgiving and collect information about
many more competitors with equal or better offers. Therefore, the real challenge is not only
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to have satisfied customers - several competitors do that - but to have delighted and loyal
customers. Otherwise, companies will suffer from high customer defection.
The media needs public support, and it achieves best when the public is properly
informed. Too often, the public viewpoint is distorted. Role of Media is as such of a
“watchdog” to highlight the issues and problems in the society and it cannot provide remedial
measures or redress which can be taken by the legal forums. Due to the pattern of media
ownership and monopoly status enjoyed by large media conglomerate, “paid news” and
unethical journalism practices takes place quite often. Hence, it should be the goal of every
media person and every journalist to ensure that the "unvarnished truth" is presented for
public review.
4.2 MEDIA VS CONSUMER
The “Media freedom versus consumer protection”, of course, has an implication that this
makes for an appealing caution against a clash in interest, simplifying what is in fact rather a
complex debate. Just like any individual freedom, we believe in the fundamental importance
of media freedom. A free media helps to ensure governments – and its representatives to be
held accountable for their actions. Without a free and independent media there is no debate,
no accountability and therefore no democracy.
Viewed from this perspective, a threat to media freedom comes from various sources
of government and individual power to law of privacy. In contemporary years, increasing
awareness has been given to consumer consciousness and protection of their interests which
has led to the significance in Functioning of Redressal Forums and Consumer protection Act,
1986. The enactment is a government regulation which protects the interests of consumers.
Further, the Government of India should persuade and motivate the vigorous Voluntary
Consumer Associations by providing required financial assistance for infrastructural
facilities.
The principles that apply to media in consumer relations and protection are:
• The Public has a right to know, and the media has an obligation to ensure a free and
timely flow of information about the society and its activities.
• It should be prepared to tell the truth in all instances, but not always tell all that they
know if it would compromise operational security for legal matters.
• Media access should be as open as the tactical situation permits, consistent with unit
integrity and mission constraints.

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 • Media representatives who jeopardize operational security or conduct themselves in
ways that prejudice the morale or discipline should be barred from the operational
area.
All the issues should be negotiable on a case-by-case basis through different forums.
Coverage of the various sensitive activities is never simple, and the media should never take a
stand on not to cover them. Ideally, that can be carried out through independent observation
by a "trained observer" -- an objective journalist. However, there will be times when the
observer may have to be part of a media pool, and information may have to be prohibited
until it is no longer of value to the society. Words can still kill--loose lips can still sink ships.
5.1 SUGGESTIONS
The Consumer Protection can be achieved effectively by using Media to create awareness
among the Customers and Retailers. Government should give directives to mass media
channels including electronic and print to educate consumers on the negative impact of
counterfeit relating. The major factor for causing exploitation is illiteracy. Audio and Video
Medium helps the uneducated consumer not to be stoical by producers, and they should be in
a position to judge and understand the product information. Media endorsement should help
to protect the interest of the consumers and not the business agenda.
Whether the customer is satisfied after purchase depends on the after sales-service in
relation to consumer's expectation. Research study reveals that, completely satisfied
customers are six times more likely to repurchase the products than the very satisfied
customers. In a competitive economy with increasingly rational buyers, a company can only
win by creating and delivering superior value involving five customer capabilities, such as: a)
Understanding customer b) Creating customer value, c) Delivering the customer needs d)
Capturing customer loyalty and e) Sustaining customer product.
Consumer movement and forums with the help of government and media should create
awareness and educate the masses by:
1. Providing information and advice to consumers and traders about their traders rights
and responsibilities;
2. Helping consumers resolve disputes with traders;
3. Investigating complaints about unfair trade practices;
4. Prosecuting unscrupulous traders;
5. Regulating and licensing business activities;

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 6. Developing legislations that protect consumers from the changing nature of trade and
commerce.
5.2 MOVING FORWARD – ACHIEVING CONSUMER EMPOWERMENT
Despite initial critiques of Consumer Rights (CR) being imperialistically imposed on
developing countries, the need for CR in developing countries is now an established fact, and
the adoption of CR codes is on the increase and is known to have a positive impact. The role
of media in consumer rights and protection is now more important than ever. Consumer trust
can only be rebuilt by overhauling, redefining and reasserting real, meaningful commitment
to them. We know now beyond any doubt that speculation of the economic crisis would see
the ethical and environmental credentials of products and services fall down the ranks of what
matters to consumers. In the context of the undeniable failure of self-regulation by media
organizations this will be no mean feat.
Consumers now want more assurance on the environmental, ethical and social
impacts of products and services, and the businesses that provide them. They are less willing
than before to accept so-called ‘green wash’. They have seen companies talk the talk only to
find out down the line that what they were hearing was rhetoric without feeling or
commitment. Companies will now have to do more, be more introspective, and make a real
heartfelt commitment to address their social and environmental responsibilities. They will
also need to find new ways of communicating this real change to consumers.
When companies make a real commitment to meaningful change, the consumers are
ready and willing to make changes of their own. Changing consumption patterns is a key to
consumer rights issues, but consumers alone cannot make these changes on their own. The
right to consumer education incorporates the right to the knowledge and skills needed for
taking action to influence factors affecting purchase decisions. Consumer empowerment can
be achieved through:-
• Critical Awareness – the responsibility to be more alert and questioning about the
price and quality of goods and services we consume.
• Action – the responsibility to assert ourselves by acting to ensure that we get a fair
deal. As long as we remain passive consumers, we will continue to be exploited and
manipulated.
• Social Concern – the responsibility to consider the impacts of our consumption
patterns and lifestyles on other citizens, especially the poor, disadvantaged or

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 powerless consumers, whether they be in the local, national or international
community.

6.1 CONCLUSION
The interests of consumers combine the ethical with the practical in a balance which
no other stakeholder group can claim to achieve. How to address the delicate balancing of
consumer needs of the poor and of the rich, and of consumers in developing and developed
countries, is a fundamental question for Consumer Protection. It is also a question that the
consumer movement has had a large element of success in answering and through which the
Consumer has been able to develop the recognition we now enjoy today. It also provides
further insight into consumer behavior to help marketers develop an appropriate marketing
strategy. This constitutes a rich contribution to an issue of considerable importance. It is
expected to be highly useful to policy planners, economists, researchers, NGOs and students.
The role of the media in a society primarily depends upon the character of the society
and its impact on the freedom it enjoys, its access to the people and its credibility and
acceptability. Democracy requires an informed public opinion for its effective operation,
since the public opinion becomes the ultimate controller of social goals, laws, and affairs of
the society. The spread of education and the development of newspaper, radio and television
have made it possible for more people to be well informed about issues and events in their
society. In fact, the media can serve a vital link between the people and those exercising
power at various levels and ensure responsive governance.
Democracy is also defined as a government by debate and discussion as against
arbitrary diktats. For debate it is necessary to give information from diverse sources. Hence,
plurality of sources of information is a must for democratic governance. Democratic
constitutions therefore have to guarantee freedom of the press to ensure free flow of
information. The citizens need information to understand the day to day affairs of the society
both on its civil and political side. Over the years the press became so powerful that it soon
acquired the status of “Fourth Estate” as it was aptly described by the British politician
Edmund Burke.
It also became so indispensable for the democratic functioning that Thomas Jefferson,
the third US President said, “Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a
government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate
for a moment to prefer the latter.” For the same reason, our first Prime Minister Pandit

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Jawaharlal Nehru declared “I would rather have a completely free Press with all the dangers
involved in the wrong use of that freedom, than a suppressed or regulated Press.”
The importance of media and Freedom of Press can be easily understood from these
popular quotes about it.
REFERENCES:
1. D P S Verma (2002). Developments in Consumer Protection in India - Journal of
Consumer Policy; March 2002, 25,1;ABI/INFORM Global.

2. Consumerism, Reference for Business: Encyclopedia of Business, 2nd edition.

(October 2010)
(http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/encyclopedia/ConCos/Consumerism.html#ixzz
12IuDj500)

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