As the country gets ready for the general elections and as the misuse of social media to influence the voting pattern weighs heavy, the government is leaving no stone unturned to ensure fair elections.

The possibility of Twitter being directed to follow the Election Commission of India (ECI) guidelines for 48 hours — the so-called ‘silent period’ — in areas where polls are to be conducted was raised during the meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology headed by Member of Parliament Anurag Thakur.

At the meeting that lasted for more than three hours, Twitter was represented by its Global Vice-President of Public Policy, Colin Crowell, and other senior officials. Thakur read out a letter addressed to him by Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey.

A Twitter spokesperson declined to comment on the meeting.

However, a government official said the meeting with Twitter was satisfying and the panel has asked the company to address the issues in real-time and engage more with the ECI ahead of the general elections.

Meeting with FB, WhatsApp

Twitter was also asked to respond in 10 days on the issues raised at the meeting. The panel has also summoned senior officials of Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram for a meeting on March 6.

Meanwhile, the panel has posed some questions to the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) so that the latter could pass them on to the social networking sites and platforms. These questions include: whether social media should be regulated or not?; if yes, who should control it?; and what measures should be taken to ensure the ‘safety’ of the companies’ operations?

Under Section 126(1) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, no person shall propagate any election matter to the public by holding, or by arranging the holding of, any musical concert or any theatrical performance or any other entertainment or amusement with a view to attracting the members of the public thereto, in any polling area during the period of 48 hours ending with the hour fixed for the conclusion of the poll for any election in that polling area.

The panel wants MeitY to analyse these issues and get back.

According to experts tracking the industry, the panel may also ask the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India to examine the issues.

Nodal officer

Meanwhile, following the meeting on Monday, Twitter has agreed to appoint a nodal officer to work closely with the Election Commission ahead of the general elections.

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