Canada Election Result Bloggers Face Fines Under 1938 Law
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Social media and a 73-year-old law may be headed for a collision today when Canada holds a national election as tweeters and bloggers face the possibility of C$25,000 ($26,400) fines for posting results before the polls close in the West.
Under section 329 of the Canada Elections Act, no one is allowed to transmit early election results from one region to other areas where the polls are still open. The provision dates to 1938 - long before television and the Internet - and was intended to prevent broadcasts of results in Eastern Canada from influencing voters in the West, as much as four and a half hours behind.