Facebook, Google vow to protect integrity of midterm polls

MANILA, Philippines — Technology companies Facebook and Google have vowed to work with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to ensure the integrity of the midterm elections.

Asked if they would provide specific assistance to the Philippines in relation to the upcoming polls, Google said they welcome discussions with government agencies to provide its users with relevant information through its products.

“We are committed to supporting the Comelec in its efforts to ensure the integrity of the upcoming national elections,” Google said in an e-mailed statement to The STAR.

“We are always looking for ways to help Filipinos find relevant, useful and credible information through our products and always welcome discussion with relevant government organizations,” it added.

On the other hand, Facebook said they are reviewing election rules and expressed support for efforts to hold political advertisers more accountable.

“We are looking closely at all elections and determining what steps we can take,” it said in a separate statement sent to The STAR.

“In the meantime, we are assessing the risks involved in each election around the world, gathering feedback from local experts to learn what’s most useful as we address bringing more tools to more places,” it added.

To do that, Facebook said it needs to consider a number of factors such as election schedules, input from third party organizations, the possibility of foreign interference, local legal requirements and the size of the local Facebook community. 

“We’re also trying to understand what could be more widely used so we can bring a set of tools to more countries, faster,” it added.

Katie Harbath, Facebook’s director for global politics and government outreach, earlier said they will work with Comelec and other groups to help detect and prevent bad actors from abusing the platform.

“The goal of Facebook in elections is to make it harder to interfere with elections on the platform, and easier for people to make their voices heard in the political process,” Harbath said at a press briefing in Manila.

“We are committed to tackling all kinds of inauthentic behavior and abuse on our platform, which we know often intensify during elections – from misinformation, misrepresentation and foreign interference, to phishing, harassment and violent threats – and we have dedicated teams working on every upcoming election around the world,” she added.

Harbath said they would partner with Comelec to conduct training on online safety for field officers, as well as look at ways to best use the platform to share election updates and encourage voter turnout.