Division 2 — Declaration of election advertising by candidates during campaign period
Declaration of election advertising by candidates
6.—(1) Election advertising (in text, still or moving picture, sign, symbol or other visual image, or any speech, music, sound or audible message, or any combination of 2 or more of those things) may be published on the Internet during the campaign period of an election by or on behalf of a candidate —
(a)
by including the election advertising, or something that contains it, on any website (including a web log) that is maintained by or on behalf of the candidate;
(b)
by communicating the election advertising through a chat room or discussion forum that is maintained (in whole or part) by or on behalf of the candidate (if not comprised in a website referred to in sub-paragraph (a));
(c)
by making the election advertising available on an online video sharing or hosting website, or an online photograph sharing or hosting website that is maintained by or on behalf of the candidate;
(d)
by or through a social networking service using a social networking service account (whether an individual or group account) that is maintained by or on the behalf of the candidate;
(e)
by electronic mail, or by sending the election advertising in a micro-blog post or in an SMS message or MMS message, using an electronic mail address, a micro-blog account or a digital mobile phone number, as the case may be, that is maintained by or on the behalf of the candidate; or
(f)
by making the election advertising available through an electronic media application provided or maintained by or on behalf of the candidate,
if, and only if the Returning Officer is given —
(i)
within 12 hours after the start of the campaign period, one or more declarations containing the information specified in paragraph (2) relating to every platform on which the election advertising that has been or is to be so published by or on behalf of the candidate in that time; and
(ii)
thereafter at any time before the election advertising is so published by or on the candidate’s behalf on any such platform, a declaration containing the information specified in paragraph (2) relating to the platform on which election advertising that is to be so published.
(2) Any declaration under paragraph (1)(i) or (ii) relating to any platform on which election advertising that has been or is to be, as the case may be, published by a candidate or on his behalf during the campaign period must contain —
(a)
the electronic address of every website (including a web log) that is maintained by or on behalf of the candidate and on which that election advertising has been or is to be so published;
(b)
the electronic address of every chat room or discussion forum that is maintained (in whole or part) by or on behalf of the candidate (if not comprised in a website referred to in sub-paragraph (a)) and on which that election advertising has been or is to be so published;
(c)
the electronic address for every online video sharing or hosting website or every online photograph sharing or hosting website that is maintained by or on behalf of the candidate and on which that election advertising has been or is to be so published;
(d)
the electronic address of every micro-blog account and every page on a social networking service (be it a personal profile page, fan page, group page or events page) that is maintained by or on behalf of the candidate and from which that election advertising has been or is to be so published;
(e)
the particulars of every functioning digital mobile phone number, and every functioning electronic mail address, that is maintained by or on behalf of the candidate and from which the election advertising in an SMS message or MMS message or electronic mail has been or is to be sent by the candidate or on his behalf during the campaign period; or
(f)
the particulars of every electronic media application that is provided or maintained by or on behalf of the candidate (if not comprised in a website referred to in sub-paragraph (a)) and on which the election advertising has been or is to be so published,
as the case may be.
(3) Every declaration under paragraph (1)(i) or (ii) shall —
(a)
be in such form and given in such manner as the Returning Officer may require; and
(b)
be given by the candidate concerned or that candidate’s election agent.
(4) When any declaration under paragraph (1)(i) or (ii) has been received by the Returning Officer, he shall without delay ensure that the declaration is open for inspection (without charge) at all reasonable hours of the day.
(5) For the avoidance of doubt, in this regulation —
(a)
“candidate” shall not include a candidate who has been declared elected under section 33(1) of the Act;
(b)
a reference to anything that is or is to be maintained or published by or on behalf of a candidate shall be a reference to anything that is or is to be maintained or published by the candidate either alone or as one in a group of candidates or other persons; and
(c)
a declaration that is required by paragraph (1)(i) or (ii) or by regulation 7(1)(b)(ii) to be given to the Returning Officer shall be regarded as given only when it is actually received by the Returning Officer.