Creation of a Registry for Political Candidates’ Social Networks

On August 16, 2018, the National Electoral Court (the “Court”) issued Regulation No. 66/2018 (the “Regulation”) which, among other things, establishes the creation of a Social Network and Website Account Registry for official party candidates, political groups and party leader authorities (the “Registry”).

The Regulation highlights that new technologies have generated new ways of constructing meaning, which differ from those of traditional media. This has entailed a fall in the use of traditional media, such as television and radio, and a significant growth in the use of social media, which in turn has led to an increase in the resources spent on social media.

Additionally, the Regulation provides that these new technologies give rise to different manipulation and misinformation techniques, which range from creating fake profiles for political leaders to spreading fake news.

In view of the above, the Court created the Registry which will be managed by the electoral secretariats and published on the Court’s website. The Registry will include each political party’s website and official social networks accounts, as well as those belonging to confederations and existing alliances, and those of party leaders.