New Delhi: The Election Commission (EC) should treat social media like any other media and all rules that apply to the media during the model code of conduct should also apply to social media, former Chief Election Commissioner S.Y. Quraishi said on Friday.
Quraishi was speaking at an event where a group of former bureaucrats and organisations, like Common Cause, Free Internet Foundation, Association for Democratic Reforms and Free Software Movement of India, came together advocating regulations for digital media platforms, saying the threat posed by them to the integrity of elections had assumed "alarming proportions".
Quraishi said that even beyond the elections, the disastrous consequences potential of the social media was quite significant.
"We have seen how rumours floating in the social media can cause havoc on law and order situation, security, and communal and caste strife. Therefore, we have to find some solution," he said.
He added while a few years ago, everyone would be up in arms against any attempt to regulate social media, now even the Internet companies had come on board.
"Initially, there used to hue and cry saying the Election Commission is threatening free speech. But free speech does not give freedom to dis-inform, misinform, provoke, incite and create riots in the country," the former CEC said.
He said as far as the EC was concerned, social media was also media and whatever applied to media should also apply to it.
Please click here to read more.