Civil Society Organizations Demand Big Tech Protect Voters Against Disinformation
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Mariah Wildgen, [email protected]
“Disinformation… drive[s] wedges between and suppress[es] the vote across vulnerable communities and communities of color.”
WASHINGTON — The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, along with 13 advocacy organizations, called on top social media and tech corporations — Google, Instagram, Meta, Reddit, Snap Inc., TikTok, Twitch, YouTube, and X — to follow five effective steps to protect U.S. voters and elections against online voting disinformation.
The civil and voting rights advocates stated: “Threats to safe and fair elections undermine democracy and can have a corrosive effect on the safety and voting rights of people of color and other targeted communities. Disinformation is often intended to drive wedges between and suppress the vote across vulnerable communities and communities of color.”
In a letter addressed to the CEOs and heads of nine social media and tech corporations, The Leadership Conference was joined by Accountable Tech, All Voting is Local, Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AAJC, The Brennan Center for Justice, Center for American Progress, Common Cause, Human Rights Campaign, Issue One, Kapor Center, National Coalition on Black Civic Participation and the Black Women’s Roundtable, North Carolina For the People Action, Protect Democracy, and UnidosUS. The civil society leaders demanded that Big Tech follow five key demands from July 2024 through Inauguration Day 2025, including to:
- Establish and enforce civic and elections policies
- Address AI-generated and manipulated media
- Resource election teams to protect against voting disinformation
- Limit rampant resharing of voting disinformation (i.e., rate limits, remove share buttons)
- Amplify authoritative and truthful information on voting and elections
The authors also pointed to the real-world harm of disinformation, including inciting the January 6 insurrection, and noted that the organized disinformation campaigns have continued: “Both organized extremists and distrusting and dangerous individuals have since been empowered and incited by unfounded election integrity claims that in some cases have been elevated and endorsed by elected leaders, business leaders, and celebrities. These actions have deepened distrust and stoked the spread of hate, harassment, and harm, both during and between election cycles.”
The groups also point out Big Tech’s inaction on voting disinformation, despite civil society issuing similar calls in 2022 ahead of the midterm elections. The letter highlights that rather than invest in existing election-focused and trust and safety teams, tech corporations have rolled back or cut these teams entirely.
The letter is available here.
In September 2023, The Leadership Conference Education Fund and The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights announced the launch of the Center for Civil Rights and Technology, a hub for advocacy, education, and research at the intersection of civil rights and technology policy. Our experts dive into the most pressing policy issues: AI and privacy, voting and platform accountability, and broadband access. Since launching, the Center held a convening titled “Regulatory Code: AI, Civil Rights, and the Future of Democracy” and created an advisory council made up of civil society and academic leaders.
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 240 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.
The Leadership Conference Education Fund builds public will for federal and state policies that promote and protect the civil and human rights of all persons in the United States. The Education Fund’s campaigns empower and mobilize advocates around the country to push for progressive change in the United States. It was founded in 1969 as the education and research arm of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. For more information on The Education Fund, visit civilrights.org/edfund/.