APD | India: Social media ethics to be drafted for elections

By APD writer Rishika Chauhan

NEW DELHI, Mar. 20(APD) -- Citing the importance of the coming general elections, the Election Commission on Tuesday asked the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and prominent social media agencies to formulate a code of ethics for the industry.

Among the social media houses, representatives from Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, ShareChat etc were invited by the Election Commission to discuss the ways in which the abuse of social media platforms could be checked during the 2019 general elections.

The Election Commission later issued a statement informing that they had asked the social media houses to make sure that Section 126 of the Representation of People Act of 1951, which prohibits advertising and campaigning 48 hours before voting is followed.

The statement said, “The issues of appointment of dedicated grievance channel for expeditious action by the organisations, and pre- certification and transparency in expenditure of political advertisements were taken up.”

A report quoted Berges Y Malu, policy head, ShareChat, explaining, “We reaffirmed our commitment at today’s meeting with Election Commission and look forward to working with them to uphold the integrity and legality of social media campaigns by political parties on our platform.”

The code of ethics should come into effect on the date of the announcement of the elections, and should be followed by all parties.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)