New Delhi, Feb. 6 -- India's advertising industry watchdog has found that the majority of social media influencers lack transparency in disclosing brand partnerships, failing to meet the guidlines aimed at protecting consumer interest.

As many as 69 of the top 100 content creators fail to comply with disclosure guidelines for brand partnerships, according to an investigation by the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI). More than half didn't make any sponsorship disclosures, while a little less than half of the creators hid them.

If so many creators "are not compliant with the law, either through absence of disclosures or by improper placement of disclosures then that by itself is a worrying problem", said Manisha Kapoor, secret...