THE GIST of Editorial for UPSC Exams : 23 MARCH 2019 (A new red line (Indian Express))

A new red line (Indian Express)

Mains Paper 2: Polity
Prelims level: RPA
Mains level: Basic structure of the Indian Constitution

Context

  •  Since the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, new media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and WhatsApp, have become political battlegrounds.
  •  These spaces of electioneering have, however, remained unregulated because the Representation of People Act (RPA), 1951, does not cover social media.
  •  The Election Commission (EC) and Internet and Mobile Association of India the body that represents social media firms took a decisive step towards plugging this gap.
  •  The two agencies agreed on a Code of Ethics, which social media outfits will follow during the Lok Sabha elections.

Background

  •  The Code that came into effect on March 20 ticks several boxes it emphasises transparency and stresses on measures to “prevent abuse of social media platforms”.
  •  However, as Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora put it, “the document should be seen as a work in progress”. Since adherence to the Code is voluntary, much will depend on the measures taken by individual social media outfits to put the document’s guidelines into practice.
  •  Section 126 of the RPA prohibits political parties and candidates from campaigning in the two days before voting.

Suggestive measures highlighted by EC

  •  In January, an EC panel suggested bringing social media platforms under the Act’s ambit so that voters are “afforded a period of reflection”.
  •  The panel suggested that these new media platforms should abide by the EC’s guidelines about taking down “objectionable content”.
  •  Social media outfits, however, did not agree with the recommendation that such content “be taken down within three hours of a notice”.
  •  Valid legal orders will be acknowledged and/ or processed within three hours for violations reported under Section 126.
  •  Also welcome is the Code’s insistence on “transparency in paid political advertisements”.
  •  Any political advertisement posted without the EC’s certification and notified as such by the EC will be acted upon expeditiously, the Code says.

Way forward

  •  The Code asks social media firms to train the EC’s nodal officers on how their “platforms work and on mechanisms for sending requests on dealing with offensive material”.
  •  These companies will also develop a “reporting mechanism” through which the poll watchdog can inform the platforms about “potential violations of Section 126”.
  •  The Code’s success will depend, in large measure, on how these channels of communication work.
  •  In the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections, the conduct of the social media firms and the EC will be watched.

Online Coaching for UPSC PRE Exam

General Studies Pre. Cum Mains Study Materials


Prelims Questions:

Q1. Consider the following statements regarding Bank Board Bureau (BBB):

  1. It will advise the government on toplevel appointments at Public Sector Banks (PSBs) and Financial Institutions (FIs).
  2. It has been set up as a three member body.
  3. Only a retired governor of RBI can become the Chairman of the Bureau.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 1 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1,2 and 3

Answer: B
Mains Questions:

Q1.Explain the success of Code of Ethics for social media outfits during LS polls will depend on how they own it, and how EC keeps watch.