Will vet political ads: FB, Twitter, Google tell HC
MUMBAI: Facebook, Twitter, Google and YouTube told the Bombay high court on Monday they will only publish political advertisements certified by the Election Commission of India (ECI), and after the authenticity of the ad and the issuer has been verified.
General elections in India are a few months away. The submissions are significant not only because of the upcoming elections, but also after a controversy surrounding political ads on Facebook ahead of the 2016 US elections revealed how social media could be misused by elements within and outside a country in an election year.
Since January, all three companies — Twitter, Google and Facebook — have been making amends to their advertising policies in India and introducing changes to ensure transparency of political ads posted on their platforms.
The matter came before a division bench of Chief Justice Naresh Patil and Justice Nitin Jamdar on Monday, after one Sagar Suryawanshi filed a public interest litigation asking that the ECI be directed to restrain social media from carrying political advertisements 48 hours before voting begins. Section 126 of India’s Representation of the People Act prohibits display of any election-related material in a 48-hour blackout period.
In court on Monday, senior advocate Darius Khambata, representing Facebook, said the social media giant already has advertisement policies in the the US, UK and Brazil, and the same would be adapted for India. He said Facebook will accept political ads on issues of national importance only after it scrutinises their content and verifies their authenticity. In an independent statement released on February 7, Facebook said advertisements that reference political figures, political parties and elections on the social networking site in India will now carry disclaimers about who published and paid for the ad. Facebook also said that from February 21, only advertisers who have completed authorisations such as adding phone number, email and website, and have disclosed who is responsible for the ad will be allowed to run political ads in India.
On Monday, senior advocate Iqbal Chagla, who represented Google and YouTube, said they too have adopted a similar advertising policy for India. Chagla said Google and YouTube will not publish political advertisement during the 48-hour blackout period, and that the search engine giant will abide by India’s statutory requirements and co-operate to ensure the elections in India are free and fair. On January 22, Google updated its election advertising policy for India, stating all ads need to be verified by the Election Commission. “Google will introduce an India-specific political advertising transparency report in March, ahead of the Lok Sabha elections,” states the policy.
Twitter’s advocate told the HC on Monday that they have guidelines in place, but wanted time to submit a detailed affidavit in reply to the plea. In January this year, Twitter said it will provide a new advertising dashboard that shows expenditures by political parties on its platform.