Facebook and Microsoft held a briefing with the Department of Homeland Security as well as the FBI, National Association of Secretaries of State, and the National Association of State Election Directors on Friday to discuss strategies and challenges ahead of the 2018 midterm elections.
Separately, a dozen tech companies, including Google, Facebook, and Snapchat, also reportedly met at Twitter headquarters Friday to discuss strategies and challenges ahead of the 2018 midterm elections, according to BuzzFeed News.
The call and meeting both come the same week Facebook, Google, Twitter, and Microsoft announced actions to combat phishing and misinformation, and Facebook and Twitter suspended hundreds of users and accounts engaging in coordinated manipulation, many linked to Iran and Russia.
The top social media giants have been criticized for how their platforms were used to spread misinformation during the 2016 presidential election, particularly by Russian actors.
Executives from Facebook, Twitter, and Google are expected to be before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Sept. 5 to testify about their ongoing efforts to protect their platforms from misuse.
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey will testify before the House Energy and Commerce Committee, also on Sept. 5, the panel said Friday.
“This committee intends to ask tough questions about how Twitter monitors and polices content, and we look forward to Mr. Dorsey being forthright and transparent regarding the complex processes behind the company’s algorithms and content judgment calls,” Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., the panel’s chairman, said in a statement in announcing the hearing on the company’s algorithms and content monitoring.
But concerns over foreign influence campaigns ahead of the 2018 elections are already mounting.
Former Facebook security chief Alex Stamos warned Wednesday it is too late to protect the midterm elections.
Nonetheless, Facebook — as well as other tech companies — seem determined to make their efforts for this year’s election known.
“Effectively combatting coordinated information operations requires many parts of society working together, which is why Facebook believes so strongly in the need for collaboration between law enforcement, government agencies, security experts and other companies to confront these growing threats. We are grateful for the opportunity to brief state election officials on a recent call convened by DHS and again today as part of our continued effort to develop collaborative relationships between government and private industry,” said Kevin Martin, Facebook’s vice president of public policy on Friday.
In April, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified before the Senate Commerce and Judiciary committees and the House Energy and Commerce Committee on his company’s relationship with the now-defunct British political research firm Cambridge Analytica, and the improper harvesting of users’ information.
“With the 2018 midterms just around the corner everyone in the election and cybersecurity community must remain vigilant. I commend the efforts made by DHS and FBI to foster communication through today’s call with Facebook and Microsoft. It is clear that Secretaries of State, state election officials, federal agencies and private sector partners are working diligently together to defend against foreign threats in order to protect our democracy,” said Jim Condos, president of the National Association of Secretaries of State.
