Election Commission to monitor social media campaigns

To ensure decorum in online election campaigning, the Election Commission of India (ECI) will monitor the content that political parties and candidates post on the internet and social media websites for any violation of electoral laws and model code of conduct.

Taking cognizance of the growing importance of social media in the upcoming Assembly and general elections, the Commission on Friday issued guidelines on the use of social media in election campaigning. This is the first time the ECI is issuing such guidelines. So far, the ECI has only been monitoring content posted in print and television media.

According to the new guidelines, all candidates have to declare in their affidavits information about their email and social media accounts. Further, all political advertisement on “internet-based websites or social media websites” will need “pre-certification” from the Commission. The provisions of the model code of conduct will also apply to all the content posted on the internet.

These guidelines will first be implemented in the upcoming elections in Delhi, Mizoram, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan. The ECI has also clarified to political parties that the expenditure incurred on their on-line campaigns will be seen as expenditure and should be filed as part of their statement to the Commission.

However, the ECI has not clarified how will it keep a check on all the content posted online, a technologically challenging task.  The ECI has, therefore, not defined the desired course in the scenario of content being posted by a third person, other than the candidate and the political party concerned. Because of the complexity involved, the Commission would consult the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology.

“This is in no way a regulation of social media,” deputy election commissioner Alok Shukla told Business Standard. Shukla added if some foul content is posted on a television channel or is printed in a newspaper, then it is easy for the commission to take action.

“However, in the case of social media, it is not as simple because their servers are not inside the country. However, we are trying to understand the technology in consultation with the communication ministry.” The idea is not to monitor the campaigns but to act on complaints that the Commission receives.

Mahesh Murthy, founder of digital brand management firm Pinstorm doubts whether the ECI will be able to achieve its desired goal. “By asking for pre-approval of all ‘social media advertisements’, it is covering only half the issue. Only the content of Facebook ads and Twitter sponsored posts can arguably be vetted, coming as they do under the definition of "advertisement" and not "editorial". This is arguably a meaningless and toothless regulation.”

According to Internet and Mobile Association of India, there are around 120 million internet users in India. Political parties, particularly the national parties, are actively exploring the internet and social media to reach out to voters. The Bharatiya Janata Party, which has been planning its social media strategy for the past couple of years, has said around 160 constituencies will have see an impact because of digital media campaigning.