With more candidates now expected to promote themselves online during the Covid-19 pandemic, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) further tightened its restrictions on online election ads by banning “microtargeting.”
In its Resolution No. 10730 containing the Implementing Rules for the Fair Election Act in connection with the 2022 polls , the Comelec en banc prohibited microtargeting, which it defined as a form of targeting online advertisements that uses recent technological developments to analyze a person’s online usage.
“Microtargeting of electoral ads shall not be allowed provided that electoral ads can be targeted using only the following criteria: geographical locations, except radius around a specific location; age; gender; provided further that contextual targeting options may also be used in combination with the above-mentioned criteria,” the issuance said.
Comelec imposed the new rule amid concerns over the use of microtargeting to influence a person to vote for a certain candidate.
The scheme drew international attention after Cambridge Analytics, a British data analytics firm, made use of it supposedly to affect the 2016 elections in the United States.
Other online rules
Under Resolution 10730, Comelec also required all online propaganda to be “truthful and not misleading, nor shall it tend unjustifiably cast doubt on the integrity of the electoral process.”
It also mandated that all ads disseminated through the internet, mobile platforms, and social media must be labeled as paid electoral ads and include the identity of the person who paid for it.
Comelec also reminded candidates to submit to its Education and Information Department (EID) the list of their verified official accounts, websites, blogs, and/or other social media pages within 30 days from the last day of the COC filing.
For social media accounts to be established after the said deadline, Comelec should be registered with its EID within 5 days from its verification or registration.
“Only verified accounts, websites, blogs, and/or social media pages may run electoral ads, and boost or promote electoral posts,” Comelec said in its latest resolution.
E-rallies
Comelec also released its rules for electronic-rallies (e-rallies) using its free live streaming platform.
It noted presidential and vice presidential as well as political parties will be each given 10 minutes and 3 slots per night.
In the case for senatorial candidates and party-list organizations, it will be 3 minutes and 5 slots per night.
The slots will be assigned by Comelec at random based on the results of televised raffle of slots to be held on Jan. 8, 2022.
The poll body said the live streaming of e-rallies shall be conducted every night, beginning February 8, 2022, on its official social media channels.
IT EID will release the schedule of the e-rally time slots at the start of the Election Period.
The measure is part of Comelec’s efforts to ensure voters will have an informed choice in picking the candidates they will vote for.
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