ECI directs ethical use of social media platforms by political parties and their representatives | Current Affairs | Vision IAS
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    ECI directs ethical use of social media platforms by political parties and their representatives

    Posted 07 May 2024

    2 min read

    • ECI issued these directions due to violations of Model Code of Conduct (MCC) during Lok Sabha election campaigning by political parties.

     

    Concerns related to misuse of Social Media in elections

    • Potential to sway voters’ opinions, erode trust in electioneering process by use of manipulated content on SMPs.
    • Misuse of AI-based tools to create deepfakes that distort information or propagate misinformation.

     

    Existing Legal Provisions 

    • Political parties have been informed by ECI of existing legal provisions that govern regulatory framework against use of misinformation using deepfakes. This includes:
      • Section 123(4) of Representation of People Act, 1951:  It is a corrupt practice for a person to publish any false statement about a candidate's personal character, conduct, etc.
      • MCC: Criticism of other parties should be limited to policies, past record and work and avoid criticism of private lives, etc.
      • Section 505 of IPC: Publishing any statement or spreading rumours that incite animosity between social classes can result in imprisonment which may extend to three years.

     

    Other directions include 

    • Political parties have to remove deepfake audios/videos within 3 hours from SMPs; identify and warn party member responsible for posting it.
    • Report presence of any unlawful information and fake user account.

     

    About Election Commission of India

    • ECI is an autonomous and permanent constitutional authority.
    • It administers elections to Parliament, Legislature of every State and to offices of President and Vice-President of India.
    • It consists of Chief Election Commissioner and two Election Commissioners. They have tenure of six years, or up to the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier.
    • Election Commission decides election schedule for both general elections and bye-elections.
    • Election Commission resolves disputes relating to splits/mergers of recognized political parties.
    • Tags :
    • Model Code of Conduct (MCC)
    • RPA 1951
    • ECI

    Articles Sources

    https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2019760#:~:text=The%20parties%20have%20been%20directed
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