CCPA fines Raising Superstars ₹8 lakh for misleading claims on infant development
The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has imposed a fine on education technology firm Raising Superstars Enterprises Pvt. Ltd. ₹8 lakh for publishing misleading advertisements on milestones of early childhood development. The company was directed to deposit the penalty within 15 days and submit a declaration of compliance; Otherwise, further action may be taken in accordance with the law.
According to the CCPA order, the company made specific, time-bound claims on its website in connection with the ‘Prodigy Framework Program’, such as “crawling in 3 months”, “walking in 8 months” and “using over 200 vocabularies by 18 months”.
The CCPA said these claims are not supported by any scientific study, clinical evaluation, empirical research, systematic monitoring mechanism, or validated data linking participation in the program to the promised results. The February 25 order instead stated that the allegations were based largely on selective parental statements that lacked scientific verification.
The official noted that during the lawsuit, the company itself acknowledged that no scientific studies, clinical evaluations or empirical research had been conducted to establish that enrolling in the program resulted in the claimed benefits.
Raising Superstars Enterprises Pvt Ltd is a child development and education services company based in Kolkata. Online programs offer structured learning frameworks and resources focused on early childhood growth. According to its website, the company primarily caters to parents and caregivers of babies and toddlers in India, providing digital content and courses aimed at supporting developmental milestones and early learning outcomes.
‘Misleading’ claims
The CCPA held that such representations may mislead consumers, especially parents and guardians of infants and young children, who constitute a vulnerable class of consumers.
The investigation report stated that the company failed to provide numerical or statistically validated data correlating participation in the program with the success of the advertised results. The authority also stated that blanket disclaimers such as “results may vary” or “no guarantee of results” were insufficient to counteract the definitive, results-oriented claims prominently displayed in advertisements.
The CCPA held that the representations amounted to misleading advertising under Section 2(28) of the Consumer Protection Act 2019 and also constituted unfair trade practices under Section 2(47) of the Act. The court observed that the dissemination of such claims undermines consumers’ right to information and may influence their decision to enroll in paid programs.
In the decision, it was noted that approximately 169,000 users were acquired during the period when the allegations in question were published on the website and that the company offered multiple paid programs and subscription-based services. The official noted that misleading claims form part of the marketing framework associated with revenue-generating offers.
Using its powers under sections 20 and 21 of the Consumer Protection Act, the CCPA directed the company to cease and desist from making developmental milestone or performance-related claims without reliable, verifiable and up-to-date scientific evidence. It also directed strict compliance with disclosure requirements under the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020.
Queries sent to Raising Superstars Enterprises Pvt Ltd on Friday remained unanswered at the time of publication.
