Gaps in regulating digital campaigns

Source: The post  “Gaps in regulating digital campaigns’’ has been created, based on “Gaps in regulating digital campaigns” published in “The Hindu” on 29th December 2025.

UPSC Syllabus: GS Paper-2- Governance

Context: The nature of election campaigning in India has undergone a significant transformation with the growing dominance of digital platforms. While political persuasion is increasingly mediated by third-party actors such as influencers and campaign agencies, election regulations continue to focus narrowly on political parties and candidates, creating serious gaps in accountability.

Key Concerns with Existing Election Rules

1. Limited Regulatory Scope: Current Election Commission (EC) guidelines primarily regulate the expenditure and advertisements of political parties and candidates, even though a large share of digital campaigning is carried out by third-party actors operating outside formal oversight.
2. Rise of Shadow Campaigns: Evidence from the Bihar Assembly election shows that third-party campaigners not only outspent official parties but also achieved greater reach and efficiency in influencing voters through digital advertisements.
3. Opaque Campaign Financing: Third-party entities have been found to sponsor advertisements on official party pages, yet such expenditures are often not reflected in party accounts, leading to under-reporting of actual campaign spending.
4. Accountability and Legal Gaps: This practice weakens the enforcement of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, and contradicts Supreme Court rulings that prohibit indirect political advertising by unauthorised entities.
5. Inadequate Timing of Regulation: Election regulations are largely activated only during the immediate pre-poll period, whereas digital campaigns influence voters continuously over long durations before polling day.

Implications of Shadow Campaigns in Elections

1. Erosion of Electoral Transparency: When third-party actors finance and run political advertisements without mandatory disclosure, the true scale and source of campaign funding remain hidden, weakening transparency in the electoral process.
2. Uneven Electoral Playing Field: Third-party campaigners, operating outside expenditure limits applicable to parties and candidates, can disproportionately amplify certain political narratives, thereby distorting electoral competition.
3. Weakening of Regulatory Authority: The inability of the Election Commission to effectively monitor and regulate indirect digital campaigning reduces the credibility and enforceability of election laws.
4. Risk to Democratic Accountability: Opaque funding and influence mechanisms allow private interests to shape voter behaviour without being answerable to voters or regulatory institutions, undermining democratic accountability.
5. Decline in Public Trust: Persistent gaps between electoral rules and campaign practices can lead to voter cynicism and declining faith in the fairness of elections.

Way Forward

1. Expanding the Definition of Campaign Stakeholders: Election laws must formally recognise third-party digital campaigners, influencers, and political consultancies as electoral actors subject to regulation.
2. Comprehensive Disclosure Norms: Political parties should be legally mandated to disclose not only their direct campaign expenditure but also all spending incurred by third parties on their behalf, ensuring full financial transparency.
3. Platform-Level Accountability: Social media platforms should be required to share real-time advertising data with the Election Commission to enable effective monitoring and enforcement.
4. Strengthening Expenditure Oversight: Clear expenditure ceilings and audit mechanisms should be introduced for third-party political advertising to prevent circumvention of existing limits.
5. Reforming the Temporal Framework: Election regulations should apply throughout the campaign period, rather than being confined to the immediate pre-poll window, to address long-term digital influence.

Conclusion: The rise of digital and third-party campaigning has outpaced India’s party-centric election regulations, creating gaps in transparency and accountability. If these shadow campaigns remain unregulated, they risk undermining electoral fairness and public trust. Updating electoral laws to reflect the realities of digital influence is essential to protect the integrity of India’s democratic process.

Question: Discuss the key challenges posed by shadow digital campaigns to electoral transparency and fairness in India. Suggest measures needed to strengthen election regulation in the digital age.