vgiefs

In our recent meeting with the Election Commission of India, we explained that we review content flagged to us on basis of our global Community Standards and remove it from our platform if found in violation of our policies.The official of social media giant at the meeting stated that complaints can be lodged against the contents on the Facebook and these are reviewed as per the global community standards."Additionally, we also reiterated that we remove content which is in violation of any provision of the law in the country," a Facebook India spokesperson said.

A source aware of the companys stance on the matter said that Facebook has not made any specific commitment on this as yet, but is examining the request.Section 126 of the Representation of the People prohibits displaying any election matter by means, inter alia, of television or similar apparatus, during the period of 48 hours before the hour fixed for conclusion of poll in a constituency.At a June 4 meeting of the Committee constituted by the Election Commission of India (ECI) to study provisions of Section 126 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, a Facebook representative agreed to examine providing a window or button on the Facebook page for flagging complaints about violation of election laws, according to minutes of the meeting reviewed by PTI. The number, he said, could be augmented during election period if the need arises.New Delhi: Election Commission has asked Facebook to examine blocking of political advertisement during last 48-hours before elections in the country, a request the social media giant hasnt responded to as yet, but is examining.In the case of proved violations, the Facebook informs the users concerned and contents are removed.Committee Chairman and Sr Deputy Election Commissioner Umesh Sinha said the aim was to prevent violations so as to ensure free and fair elections and asked Facebook to share the code of ethics/guidelines for contents and Excellent quality machine accessory consider some mechanism to forewarn the users against violation of election laws during elections.At the meeting, the official was "requested to consider the possibility of blocking posting of election advertisements during the period of last 48 hours and to collect details about the expenditure part of the advertisements for elections," according to the minutes."In such cases, action will be with regard to violation of the law and not merely based on the global community standards.It was also suggested to him that there should be some mechanism to deal with cases of repeated violation by the same user, he said.Action would be promptly taken if a complaint was made by the Commission or its machinery about violation of any provision of the law in regard to "contents on Facebook".

The representative also agreed to examine if the number of Facebook reviewers attending to complaints against contents posted by users can be increased from current 7,500 persons. The cases of removal of contents are also posted on the transparency page of Facebook.Besides ECI officials, the panel includes representatives of News Broadcasters Association (NBA), Press Council of India, and Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. "If contents are found to be violating the community standards, they will be taken off," he stated, according to the minutes of the meeting. There is a policy of taking special care during elections," he told the meeting.."Maintaining a safe community for people to connect and share on Facebook is absolutely critical to us.