Using Social Networks for Election Campaigning: Legal Framework and Problems of Compliance

The article analyzes the use of social media resources on the Internet for election campaigning, which contributes to the rapprochement of candidates and their voters, direct influence on the electorate, acquaintance with its opinion on problematic issues, without a significant increase in the cost of the election campaign, which is especially important for new politicians who have not yet received wide support. At the same time, it is quite difficult to monitor the legality of election campaigning on social networks and bring to justice those who violate Russian law for a number of reasons, both technical (in modern circumstances, not all popular social networks are available for control by Russian state bodies) and legal (publication of campaign materials on a personal page that do not meet the requirements of Russian legislation may entail punishment only in the form of a small fine). In the course of the study, it is established that due to its specifics, the legal regulation of the use of social networks in election campaigning requires a detailed study and improvement, which will allow the use and development of the resources under consideration as a tool and platform for election campaigning, within the legal framework of the Russian Federation. Thus, the author comes to the conclusion that the most effective way to solve this problem, taking into account the current realities, would be to eliminate the gaps in legal regulation and establish equal responsibility for violations of the rules of election campaigning of users of social networks and the media, if the audience of the user of social networks exceeds ten thousand people.