How can social media be regulated in the Indian elections?

Over 500 million Internet users in India are flooded with political content these days. All political parties want to reach out to their voters, and platforms like Whatsapp, Facebook, Twitter and Youtube are being used to push political content.

Amit Sharma, a first-time voter said he is tired of so much information. "If you log in to Facebook, Twitter or any other such platform, it's flooded with political messages. Every day I get hundreds of forwards in the form of videos or articles, and all are related to one political party or the other.

"The danger is that we are being forced to consume this content without being able to verify it is fake or true."

Using an Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) during an awareness drive, New Delhi, April 4, 2019. /VCG Photo

As India goes to polls, fake news has become a big challenge to deal with. Lies are being spread to fuel emotions resulting in violence at times. Social activists, retired government officials and many other organizations have petitioned the Election Commission of India seeking regulation of social media companies as they pose a threat to the integrity of elections.

Vipul Mudgal warned, "The Election Commission must create a nodal department to address the growing threat of fake news which has the potential to jeopardize free and fair elections in the country. Headed by a competent and senior officer and staffed by members with the requisite technical capabilities, the department can also receive complaints and grievances from the public, candidates, or political parties."

The Election Commission of India in consultation with digital platforms and the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) has culminated in the adoption of a Voluntary Code of Ethics effective from March 20, 2019.

"While we welcome this outcome as a step forward, it needs to be pointed out that social media is also media. Whatever guidelines are meant for (the) media, print and electronic, are applicable to social media platforms also," S. Y. Qureshi, former chief election commissioner of India, commented.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi releases his election manifesto for the general election, New Delhi, April 8, 2019. /VCG Photo

The fear is that fake news will influence voters to impact the outcome of the elections. The challenge before the Election Commission of India is to monitor expenditure of political parties on digital as well as other platforms. There are caps on expenditure by individual candidates, but there is no cap on political parties.

Mudgal said, "We understand that world's 70-percent social media traffic passes through Google, Twitter and Facebook then I think there should be some responsibility somewhere particularly when it comes to elections. There has to be a mechanism where these companies share all information with the Election Commission. The candidates should also share all their handles with the Commission. Only then there will be some sort of transparency."

While the companies have started taking action against fake news, their speed cannot match the rate at which it spreads through various platforms. That's the gap that needs to be addressed for free and fair elections in India.

(CGTN)