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Source-This post on EC Guidelines on Social Media Use in Political Campaigns is based on the article “Amid row over fake video, EC warns parties against misuse of AI-based tools” published in “The Hindu” on 8th May 2024.
Why in the News?
Recently, ECI has issued guidelines to regulate the use of social media platforms by political parties and their representatives during election campaigning. EC has also emphasized the need to uphold the integrity of the electoral process.
EC Guidelines on Social Media Use in Political Campaigns
1) Prevention of Misinformation: The Election Commission of India has issued guidelines to political parties to combat the misuse of AI and deepfake technologies that distort information during campaigns.
2) Removal of False Content: Parties are required to promptly remove any fake content from their platforms within three hours of notification.
3) Legal and Ethical Compliance: The advisory stresses adherence to the Information Technology Act, 2000, the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, the Indian Penal Code, and the Representation of the People Acts of 1950 and 1951.
4) Specific Prohibitions: Parties are instructed to avoid publishing deepfake audio and videos, spreading misinformation, posting derogatory content towards women, using children in campaigns, and depicting violence or harm to animals.
5) Reporting and Accountability: Parties must report unlawful information and fake user accounts to the respective platforms and escalate persistent issues to the Grievance Appellate Committee as specified in the rules.
About Representation of the People Act (RPA) 1950
The Representation of the People Act (RPA) 1950 outlines specific provisions across four schedules concerning the allocation of seats and election methods for various governmental bodies:
a) First Schedule: This schedule details the seat allocation for the States in the Lok Sabha, including reservations for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
b) Second Schedule: It specifies the total number of seats in each State’s Legislative Assembly.
c) Third Schedule: This outlines the seat distribution in the Legislative Councils of the States.
d) Fourth Schedule: It identifies local authorities relevant for elections to the Legislative Councils.
e) As per the provision, seats in the Lok Sabha are to be filled through direct elections from parliamentary constituencies within the States.
UPSC Syllabus: Polity and nation
