Israel Election Committee Mandates Transparency for Political Bots and Fake Accounts
Central Election Committee Chairman Noam Solberg ruled that political bots and fake accounts require disclosure, though dismissing a petition against Likud and Netanyahu.
Central Election Committee Ruling on Bots and Transparency
Central Election Committee Chairman, Supreme Court Justice Noam Solberg, ruled on Friday that the use of bots and fake accounts for distributing election propaganda requires proper disclosure.
According to the decision, candidates and parties operating such accounts must clearly state who stands behind them. Distributing messages without identifying the responsible party constitutes a violation of transparency obligations stipulated by election law.
Dismissal of Petition Against Likud and Netanyahu
The ruling was issued following a petition filed by the Freedom of Information Movement against the Likud party and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The petition alleged that the two operate fake accounts to amplify the Prime Minister's election campaign messages.
"The dissemination of election propaganda through an unidentified account, including a pseudonym or a bot, is considered an election advertisement subject to transparency requirements," Justice Solberg noted.
However, Solberg determined that insufficient evidence was presented in this specific case to prove that Likud or Netanyahu operated the alleged accounts, and consequently dismissed the petition.
Application of Transparency Rules to Fake Accounts
Despite dismissing the petition, Solberg clarified that under the Election Propaganda Law, campaign materials distributed by or on behalf of a candidate require identification of the responsible entity. Candidates and parties cannot bypass disclosure requirements by operating anonymous accounts.
