Social media companies Google, Facebook and Twitter have assured the Election Commission that their platforms won't be used for anything which affects polls during the campaign period, reports The Hindu. A committee under Senior Deputy Election Commissioner Umesh Sinha contacted the regional heads of these companies seeking inputs on what these companies could do to - avoid a negative impact of fake news and - targeted communication during the 48-hour period before the poll closes. The companies will also inform the EC about the expenditure on each political advertisement on their platforms according to Indian Express. The committee under Sinha was set up to review the scope of Section 126 of Representation of the People Act, 1951, since new media platforms have come into existence and gained popularity. The section prohibits displaying election matter "by means, inter alia, of television or similar apparatus" during the 48-hour period preceding the closing of a poll — also called the 'silence period'. Rajasthan, Mizoram, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh will hold pilots for state assembly elections later this year, before the Lok Sabha elections in 2019. Use of governmental social media Facebook was the EC's social media partner for the Karnataka state assembly elections held earlier this year. The partnership was announced a week after it was reported that the Election Commission had taken a “grim view” of the Cambridge Analytica incident and the fact that Facebook was exploited to influence polls across the world. Chief Election Commissioner OP Rawat had then indicated that the EC may review its association with…
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