ByteDance owned social network TikTok has announced that its Safety Centre - a resource that gives users tools and information to protect themselves online - is now available in 10 major Indian languages - Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi, Bengali, Punjabi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and Oriya. In addition, the web page now includes a section on India’s upcoming general elections. In it, TikTok asks users to “continue to use platform in a respectful and responsible way”, refrain from uploading or sharing unlawful content and report any such content using the Election Commission of India’s cVIGIL app. The page also has advice on how to combat bullying - including how to make an account private, delete or filter comments or fans, and report harassment - as well as links to anti-bullying resources. ‘Voluntary code of ethics’ for social media platforms On March 20, the Election Commission announced that Facebook, Google, WhatsApp, ShareChat, TikTok and the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) had presented it with a ‘voluntary code of ethics’ for the general election. In it, the platforms agreed to: Mechanism for ECI to report violations to platforms: Platforms have developed a notification mechanism for the ECI to legally notify them of potential violations of Section 126 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 and other electoral laws. Action within 3 hours for violations of 48-hour silent period: For reported violations of Section 126 of the RP Act – which prohibits campaigning in the two days before voting – platforms…
