The Russia connectionSocial media efforts to combat foreign interference
In the wake of revelations throughout 2017 that Russia had exploited social media platforms to influence the 2016 presidential election, executives from Facebook, Twitter, and Google appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee on 31 October 2017 to discuss foreign interference on their platforms. Over ten months later, on 5 September 2018, representatives from tech giants were again called to Capitol Hill to update lawmakers on their efforts in the lead-up to the midterm elections. A new report reviews and analyzes the steps taken by online information platforms to better defend against foreign interference since 2016, specifically focusing on three lines of effort: policies to address inauthentic behavior, measures to improve advertising transparency, and forward-looking investments and external partnerships.
The Alliance for Securing Democracy has just released a new report analyzing Facebook, Twitter, and Google’s efforts to combat foreign interference.
In the wake of revelations throughout 2017 that Russia had exploited social media platforms to influence the 2016 presidential election, executives from Facebook, Twitter, and Google appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee on 31 October 2017 to discuss foreign interference on their platforms. Bradley Hanlon, a research assistant at the Alliance for Securing Democracy and the author of the report, notes that lawmakers chastised the platforms for failing to report disinformation campaigns waged by the Russian government and its proxies for almost a year. As described by the New York Times, the executives expressed remorse and regret for their companies’ failures during the 2016 election and promised to prevent future information operations from manipulating their users.
Over ten months later, on 5 September 2018, representatives from tech giants were again called to Capitol Hill to update lawmakers on their efforts in the lead-up to the midterm elections. In their written testimonies, all three companies reported numerous changes and policies to help improve transparency and protect users from foreign interference. Pointed questions from lawmakers, however, elicited more apologies and promises than concrete solutions. And, in contrast to seemingly improved dialogue between policymakers and the witnesses from Facebook and Twitter, Google’s chair sat empty for the duration of the hearing, a reminder that cooperation between the public and private sector on technological threats to democracy remains insufficient.
The Alliance’s report reviews and analyzes the steps taken by online information platforms to better defend against foreign interference since 2016, specifically focusing on three lines of effort: policies to address inauthentic behavior, measures to improve advertising transparency, and forward-looking investments and external partnerships.
Here is the report’s Executive Summary:
Two years after the Russian government manipulated social media to interfere in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, online information platforms continue to serve as mediums for such operations, including the 2018 midterm elections. Under intense public criticism and congressional scrutiny, the three most prominent online information platforms – Facebook, Twitter, and Google – have taken steps to address vulnerabilities and to protect their users against information operations by actors linked to authoritarian regimes. However, given the ongoing nature of online authoritarian interference, the steps taken by these companies continue to fall short.
"Times
