Tech giants, Google and Facebook have informed the Bombay High Court that they are bringing in a new set of rules related to political advertisements prior to general elections to check any foreign intervention.
Google has said that it unveiled new regulations on February 14 while Facebook’s new regulations will come into effect from February 21.
Election Commission of India was directed by a division bench of Chief Justice Naresh Patil and Justice Nitin Jamdar to file its affidavit within a week.”You (ECI) have to decide whether your requirements are met by these guidelines. If there is any lacunae, point it out. Make it expressly clear that legal provisions for election campaigning apply to social media. Essential safeguards should be in place to ensure free and fair elections,” said the bench.
Darius Khambata, senior advocate and counsel for Facebook informed that the platform’s new policies will comprise of an authorisation process for individuals seeking to post a political advertisement or on matters of national importance.
“In addition to increasing transparency in political advertising, Facebook is taking various initiatives to take action against fake accounts, limit the spread of false news and misinformation and combat coordinated inauthentic behaviour,” said Facebook in an affidavit.
On curbing political advertisements two days before polling day, Facebook and Google cited that it would be difficult to regulate as polls are bound to take place on different days across India. While Google said it will not allow booking of political ads 48 hours before poll day, Facebook, on the other hand, assured that advertisements that breach norms will be pulled down if the ECI issues a directive.
