The Police Service will make recommendations to the relevant ministerial representatives for the inclusion of social media as it relates to canvasing on election day. Speaking at yesterday’s weekly press briefing at the Police Administration Building, Gold Commander in charge of election safety, DCP Harold Phillip, said a final report on police actions during the lead-up to and election day would be completed within two weeks.
In that report a recommendation would be made for the inclusion of social media canvasing to be barred. Phillip was responding to questions by the media about concerns raised by both PNM and UNC leaders that there was electronic canvasing on election day. Both Dr Keith Rowley and Kamla Persad-Bissessar claimed representatives of the other party were sending text messages to voters encouraging them to vote for their respective candidates.
“The law with respect to canvasing on election day deals directly to wearing emblems. However, as it related to the state of affairs of the law it does not include social media and we will want to make some recommendations to the Elections and Boundaries Commission,” Phillip said, adding that it is of concern to the police who are now doing research on the topic.
Asked about the racist comments plastered on social media, mostly Facebook, following the defeat of the UNC-led People’s Partnership by the PNM, Phillip said he was not made aware of it but once it came to the attention of the police it would be investigated.
Phillip said under the Sedition Act there was an offence to incite racial hatred. He added that the Cyber Crime Unit was the unit responsible for monitoring social media. Phillip said the pictures of voters showing off who they voted for on social media was of concern but was not illegal.
“Whatever is written is what we enforce since there is nothing written with respect to social media, certainly one ought not to influence persons voting.
“Social media is new and is not specifically catered for in the law. We allowed it to flow and the reports that were made we noted them and it is among the concerns to add to the final report,” Phillip said.