THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) is in the final stages of preparations for the midterm elections next year and will soon issue policies and guidelines on the use of social media during the campaign period, its chief said Monday.
“We are now about to finish. We are just editing the guidelines for social media. For the first time, the Comelec will come out with guidelines on the use of AI and the corresponding penalties for those who will violate the rules,” Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia said.
He said that the poll body needeed to regulate the use of social media because it would be the most accessible and widely used campaign platform in the 2025 polls.
Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia
“It is our commitment for the 2025 election campaign. We are sure that AI and deepfakes and other platforms would be widely used,” he said. “Equal opportunity for all. That’s our commitment to the Filipino people.”
The commission, Garcia said, will hold a forum to explain the guidelines, particularly to the political parties.
He said the Comelec was prepared if the legality of its actions would be questioned before the courts.
“We have that rule-making power. It is stated in Republic Act 9006 or the Fair Elections Act that we can regulate other forms of media, other forms of information dissemination. Comelec can’t be helpless during elections,” he pointed out.
He said that Comelec would not totally ban the use of AI but only some parts of it.
“AI is a fast-changing new technology and, as such, we should always have a proactive stand when it comes to the issue of AI and other technology,” Garcia said.
He said problems with AI were misinformation, disinformation and deepfakes directed against a candidate or political party.
“The abuse of AI technology and ‘deepfake’ videos undermines the integrity of elections and the credibility of public officials, candidates, and election management authorities. The abuse of this technology in campaign materials… or other media forms may amount to fraudulent misrepresentation of candidates,” he pointed out.
Earlier, election watchdog Legal Network for Truthful Elections (Lente) called on Comelec to approach its plan with a balanced perspective to avoid inciting unnecessary fear.
It proposed that Comelec should conduct rigorous social media monitoring.
Be the first to comment