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ECI directs ethical use of social media platforms by political parties and their representatives

Posted 07 May 2024

2 min read

  • ECI issued these directions due to violations of Model Code of Conduct (MCC) during Lok Sabha election campaigning by political parties.

 

Concerns related to misuse of Social Media in elections

  • Potential to sway voters’ opinions, erode trust in electioneering process by use of manipulated content on SMPs.
  • Misuse of AI-based tools to create deepfakes that distort information or propagate misinformation.

 

Existing Legal Provisions 

  • Political parties have been informed by ECI of existing legal provisions that govern regulatory framework against use of misinformation using deepfakes. This includes:
    • Section 123(4) of Representation of People Act, 1951:  It is a corrupt practice for a person to publish any false statement about a candidate's personal character, conduct, etc.
    • MCC: Criticism of other parties should be limited to policies, past record and work and avoid criticism of private lives, etc.
    • Section 505 of IPC: Publishing any statement or spreading rumours that incite animosity between social classes can result in imprisonment which may extend to three years.

 

Other directions include 

  • Political parties have to remove deepfake audios/videos within 3 hours from SMPs; identify and warn party member responsible for posting it.
  • Report presence of any unlawful information and fake user account.

 

About Election Commission of India

  • ECI is an autonomous and permanent constitutional authority.
  • It administers elections to Parliament, Legislature of every State and to offices of President and Vice-President of India.
  • It consists of Chief Election Commissioner and two Election Commissioners. They have tenure of six years, or up to the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier.
  • Election Commission decides election schedule for both general elections and bye-elections.
  • Election Commission resolves disputes relating to splits/mergers of recognized political parties.
  • Tags :
  • Model Code of Conduct (MCC)
  • RPA 1951
  • ECI
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