Big Tech Must Protect Democracy: EU Drafts Misinformation Guidelines Ahead Of Elections

European Union officials have begun a process to compile guidelines for Big Tech companies to safeguard the democratic process as nearly a third of the world’s population goes to the polls this year.

The chief concerns are over the spread of disinformation, hate speech and other malicious attacks over social media platforms that could influence voters — with the U.S., U.K., South Korea and several European countries among the many contesting elections later in the year.

Thierry Breton, the EU Commission’s internal market commissioner, told lawmakers in Strasbourg: “We know that this electoral period is going to be targeted either via hybrid attacks or foreign interference of all kinds. We can’t have half-baked measures.”

Also Read: OpenAI Tackles Misinformation: New Tools Ahead Of Key Elections

Identifying Deepfakes

The Commission has already notified Big Tech companies, including Google owner Alphabet GOOGLGOOG, Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc META and Apple Inc AAPL, that it expects answers on what actions they can take.

Some platforms, including Meta, have said they will start labeling artificial intelligence (AI)-generated images, while OpenAI, the AI partner of Microsoft Corp MSFT, said last month that it would soon launch a tool to identify AI-generated content.

But more is likely to be expected from tech companies to counter threats such as coordinated fake news and image manipulation attacks from bot factories and hostile foreign governments.

AI is increasingly being used to generate so-called deepfake images and videos — in one such example last year, a manipulated video appeared on Meta’s Instagram and Facebook platforms falsely suggesting that President Joe Biden was a pedophile.

Some, however — including Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce Inc CRM — are suggesting social media is a bigger threat to the democratic process than AI. Speaking on a panel alongside OpenAI’s Sam Altman at Davos last month, Benioff said: “Regulators have not done their job.”

EU Ahead Of US In Tech Regulation

In the U.S. there’s been little move by regulators ahead of this year’s presidential election to ensure misinformation isn’t used to influence voters.

However, state legislators have taken the lead. Public Citizen, a non-profit consumer advocacy organization, said that 27 states have now passed legislation to regulate the use of deepfakes in elections — receiving bi-partisan backing.

It said: “Without regulation, deepfakes are likely to further confuse voters and undermine confidence in elections.

“A deepfake video could be released days or hours before an election with no time to debunk it — misleading voters and altering the outcome of the election.”

Another example, again targeting Biden, voters in last month’s New Hampshire primary received a robocall, supposedly from the president telling Democrats they shouldn’t vote in the election.

Now Read: Bill Gates Says ‘Bad Guys Will Be More Productive’ As Sam Altman And Other Leaders Discuss Potential Impact Of AI On US Presidential Election

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