Gaps in regulating digital campaigns, Pg8

Key Highlights:

• The Election Commission (EC) is struggling to regulate digital campaigns due to the rise of third-party actors.
• Digital campaigning now dominates election spending, but the distribution of expenditure beyond parties and candidates remains less visible.
• Third-party actors outspent parties and candidates on Meta, achieving greater visibility during the Bihar Assembly elections.
• There are financial entanglements between political parties and third-party actors, with external entities funding advertisements on official party pages.
• The Supreme Court has held that no entity may publish advertisements for the benefit of any political party or candidate.
• Digital spending is often disclosed ambiguously, with payments listed under platform names rather than the specific entities that design or fund advertisements.

Detailed Insights:

• The EC's directives primarily target parties and candidates, overlooking the increasing influence of third-party actors like campaign firms and influencers.
• The EC's notification on October 21 attempted to widen the regulatory net but was limited to a narrow pre-poll window and print media.
• Analysis of the Bihar Assembly election data reveals that third-party advertisers are more cost-efficient, generating more impressions per ₹10 lakh spent compared to parties.
• Third-party advertisements show a more dispersed pattern across age cohorts, while party and candidate advertisements are concentrated among younger individuals.
• The current regulatory framework struggles to address the reverse flow of funding, where third-party entities pay for advertisements on official party pages.
• The temporal framing of regulation is inadequate, as electoral influence builds over months through sustained digital exposure.
• Addressing the accountability gap requires extending regulatory obligations beyond parties and candidates to include the wider ecosystem of actors involved in content dissemination and campaign finance.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Third-party actors: Entities other than political parties or candidates involved in electoral outreach, such as campaign firms and influencers.
• Media Certification and Monitoring Committee (MCMC): Committee responsible for pre-certifying political advertisements.
• Digital political advertisements: Political advertisements on digital platforms, including social media.