New Delhi, April 1: In a bid to curb the spread of fake news, communally-charged content and misinformation ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Monday issued an order banning WhatsApp and Twitter services across the country. The ECI has written to Facebook, which owns WhatsApp, and Twitter asking them to suspend their services in India till May 19, the last day of voting for Lok Sabha elections 2019.

"In view of growing fake news on social media platforms, Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora has ordered suspension of WhatsApp and Twitter services with immediate effect across the country till May 19," read the order issued by the ECI. The poll body said the move will ensure fair elections as candidates and their supporters won't be able to influence voters through content on WhatsApp and Twitter during the pre-poll silence period. Social Media Campaigning Part of Model Code of Conduct, Says ECI.

The ECI, in its order, said if WhatsApp and Twitter services remain available, it would be considered a violation of model code of conduct and appropriate action would be taken against the company. A WhatsApp official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed the company has received direction from the poll panel. "We have received the order to withdraw our services till May 23. The company is discussing whether to comply with the order or challenge it in the court of law," he said.

Latestly tried to reach out to Twitter for a comment but didn't get a response. The 2019 Lok Sabha polls will be held in seven phases from April 11 to May 19. While Twitter is a popular platform to express views on issues, WhatsApp groups are widely used by political parties to spread their messages. The spread of fake news and rumours about child lifters on WhatsApp have led to several incidents of lynching. What is MCC or Aachar Sanhita? Why It's Needed & How is it Enforced? All You Need to Know. 

In July last year, the Supreme Court had said that "horrendous acts of mobocracy" cannot be allowed to overrun the law of the land and issued a slew of guidelines to deal with mob lynching and cow vigilantism. In August last year, Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had told the visiting WhatsApp CEO Chris Daniels to comply with the Indian laws and take 'suitable' steps to prevent misuse of the instant messaging platform in the country.

Consequently, WhatsApp had rolled out its forward message limit to five chats for over 200 million users in the country. Earlier, the company allowed users globally to forward messages for up to 20 chats (either individuals or groups).

It is to be noted that the date today is April 1, which is known as April Fool's Day. The above article is a celebration of the same (a work of fiction). Happy April Fool's Day.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 01, 2019 12:05 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).