Campaigning to irk

Are candidates crossing the line between personal space and campaign fervour in their overuse of SMS, emails and phone calls?:

by Carol Aloysius

The time: 12 midnight. The regular lamplighter is away on election work and the lane is inky black. The eerie silence of the night is broken by the shrill and persistent ringing of the phone. A family emergency? Some kind of disaster? No. It is a call from the office of a candidate contesting the August 17 elections.

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Politics is turning out to be 24/7 business. But what is annoying about this is the growing disregard by the candidates and or their campaign staff for privacy and personal space and time of the voters.

SMS’, emails, facebook …. Everyone any kind of mobile device is being bombarded with unsolicited messages from candidates requesting, urging, almost demanding their votes come August 17. And if that is not enough, there is now the midnight call.

Midnight call

“We would not have minded if the callers had at least had the courtesy to ask our permission before they made those calls and invaded our privacy rights, sending our blood pressure soaring in the process,” says a recipient of one of these calls.

Elaborates another, “A call allegedly from a candidate’s office asking her to vote for him, was made to my sister’s land line on Sunday at around 11 a.m. She was in the toilet having a bath and since the phone rang persistently, she stopped bathing and rushed out to answer the call and slipped and fell. We had to take her to the vedamahatthaya as she had bruised her leg. Since the phone kept ringing, I answered it and was furious when the caller identified herself as a supporter of a particular candidate and wanted me to vote for him”.

If the SMS, emails and phone calls up the Richter scale of irritation several notches higher, the junk mail from various candidates stuffed into letter boxes take it to another level altogether. “Every morning when I open my mail box it is stuffed with pamphlets with photos and achievements of candidates contesting from various leading parties.

My front yard and back yard has to be swept three of four times a day due to this junk mail as they even throw them over the wall. Aren’t there laws against polluting our environment with this junk mail?” asks another irate voter, who has now posted a ‘NO JUNK MAIL PLEASE” on her gates and mail box. Avoid

So what can one do to avoid these' nuisance calls', messages and mails that invade your personal space?

Junk mail

Isn't there a law that makes it punishable for electronic messages to be sent, or calls to be made to another person's mobile phone if the number has been obtained without prior permission from the recipient? ”

“No” says the Deputy Elections Commissioner ( Administration) M.M. Mohamed, explaining that most mobile phones are controlled by private communication companies and that only print or electronic media that comes under the State is under the control of the Elections Commissioner.

In fact, he admits, the laws regarding using the electronic media and social media are antiquated and have no validity in the modern hi-tech society. “They were framed 36 years ago when there were no mobile phones in our country. So there are no laws applicable to them or their usage. Using mobiles as social media is also a new area which is not covered by any laws other than guidelines,” he says.

So are all owners of mobile phones completely at the mercy of callers bent on invading their privacy?

Recourse

“Not in the case of mobile phones from private companies. So if you have subscribed to a private telephone company, and keep getting calls or messages from party supporters during an election campaign, my only advice is to just switch off your phones,” he advises.

What about land phones? Are there laws that can be applied to prevent misuse of land phones?Mohomed’s reply offers a gleam of hope. “Yes” he says, elaborating, “But only if you have subscribed to a government owned company, such as Sri Lanka Telecom.

If you receive nuisance calls during this election campaign, you should make a complaint to the Commissioner of Elections office, and we will deal with that complaint accordingly. Your complaint must be either written or faxed to us.

Don't call us, as we do not accept complaints made on the phone. Write to us or send us a fax message with your number as well and other relevant details of yourself. The numbers to fax us are as follow: 2877636, or 2877633.”

Social media within limits

After 30 years of mobile telephones and nearly two decades of commercial internet, Sri Lanka’s information network has taken a giant leap forwards . During the Presidential Elections this January, there was an unprecedented use of social media where hundreds and thousands of Lankans used face book, twitter, and popular blogs, to lampoon politicians or demand clarification and simply share their hopes for a better future.

Now that this powerful tool of communication is in our hands, the important thing is how it is used especially at a time like this. Invading someone else’s privacy by calling or messaging on their phones unwanted bits of election information or canvassing for votes, is certainly not the answer.

After 30 years of mobile telephones and nearly two decades of commercial internet, Sri Lanka’s information network has taken a giant leap forwards . During the Presidential Elections this January, there was an unprecedented use of social media where hundreds and thousands of Lankans used face book, twitter, and popular blogs, to lampoon politicians or demand clarification and simply share their hopes for a better future.

Now that this powerful tool of communication is in our hands, the important thing is how it is used especially at a time like this. Invading someone else’s privacy by calling or messaging on their phones unwanted bits of election information or canvassing for votes, is certainly not the answer.