New Delhi: In what is seen as a recognition of the impact of the Web on election results, the Election Commission of India has brought the Internet in general and social media in particular under the election code of conduct.
The Election Commission has issued a notification according to which candidates are required to declare in addition to their assets, educational qualification and criminal records, details of their social media accounts.
The Election Commission's definition of social media is broad and includes in addition to social networking services (such as Facebook) and microblogs (such as Twitter), blogs, collaborative projects (such as Wikipedia), content communities (such as YouTube) and virtual game worlds (apps).
The restrictions that have so long applied to political advertisements in the traditional media have also been extended to the social media. Which means that all political ads need to be pre-certified before they are posted online.
Candidates will also have to declare the expenditure on campaigning through the Internet.
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