The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has levied a penalty on edtech startup Raising Superstars for deceptive advertising practices related to child development milestones. The Mumbai-based company faced an ₹8 Lakh fine for claims such as babies crawling at 3 months and walking at 8 months. Raising Superstars, known for its activity-based educational videos targeting young children, promoted these assertions under its ‘Prodigy Framework Program’.
The issue came to light after a complaint from the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) in 2022. Despite repeated requests for substantiating evidence and customer feedback, the startup failed to provide objective data to support its statements. As a result, the CCPA found that Raising Superstars lacked any internal validation of its advertised outcomes.
While the misleading content attracted 13,000 new users before the ASCI intervention, the startup later modified its website disclaimers and terms to clarify that individual results may vary and that their programs are designed to be child-centric and stress-free.
Source: Inc42 Media