Guidelines issued to Police for handling election-related SM violations

By Darshana Sanjeewa Balasuriya

With the Presidential Election set for September 21, social media has become the primary platform for campaign activities and criticisms targeting candidates. In response, the Police Headquarters has directed all police stations to follow new guidelines for acting on election-related complaints on social media, including the removal of problematic posts and handling violations, the Daily Mirror learns.  

The Police Headquarters has issued a special circular detailing procedures for addressing illegal election propaganda and coordinating with the Computer Crimes Investigations Division of the CID and Divisional Police Technology Divisions.   

A senior police officer said that these guidelines cover methods for stopping the spread of prohibited election propaganda content and identifying offenders.  

He said that all stations have been briefed on how to handle social media issues during the election period, including post removal and legal action against violators.   

The DIG of the Police Legal Division, the Director of the IT Division, the Director of the Computer Crimes Investigation Division, and the Digital Forensics Unit of the CID are all involved in these efforts.   The officer said that while the police are monitoring social media for election violations, they are primarily responding to complaints due to their workload and the capacity.   Several complaints related to threats and criticisms targeting presidential candidates are currently under investigation.  

It was also learnt that investigating some complaints are challenging and time-consuming due to the fact that many social media platforms are based overseas and the limitations of current laws, as the Online Safety Bill remains inactive.