EU stress tests platforms' election readiness against manipulation

The EU is gearing up for the
election of the new European Parliament in June with the
objective of protecting the integrity of electoral processes
from disinformation amplified by the use of artificial
intelligence (AI).

   
In this context, the European Commission has conducted a
simulation exercise with designated platforms under the Digital
Services Act, Digital Services Coordinators overseeing national
implementation, and civil society organizations, the EU
executive said last week.

   
The objective of the stress test was to verify their
readiness against election manipulation and interference in
relation to the European election.

   
The stress test included a series of fictitious scenarios
based on past experiences with attempts of election manipulation
and interference, as well as cyber-enabled information
manipulation and hybrid threats.

   
The test on the platforms' readiness to tackle manipulative
behaviour that could occur in the run-up to elections included
information manipulation enabled by deep fakes or other uses of
AI to distort and manipulate audio-visual content; attempts of
suppression of voices, including through harassment and threats
online; intentional spread of false information on the electoral
process to mislead voters; online incitement to violence based
on manipulated information; cyber-enabled activity that is used
for information manipulation.

   

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