Facebook’s new policies for the U.S. election include the ban on new political ads during the week before the election, along with some specific measures that try to combat misinformation. Facebook will remove posts that claim people will get COIVD-19 if they go to polling stations and will attach a link to “authoritative information” about the virus.
The company will also attach labels to Facebook posts that seek to “delegitimize the outcome of the election” or claim that lawful voting methods will lead to fraud. And, if any candidate prematurely tries to declare victory Facebook will attach a link to the official results.
Some of these measures have been seen as a direct response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s false claims about mail-in voting and his recent suggestion that his supporters should vote for him twice to “test” the voting system.
“I think Canada really needs to lay down some ground rules for how this company is going to operate. And we need to be calling the shots — not Facebook — in terms of electoral integrity,” said Angus.
Angus said the trouble with companies the size of Google and Facebook is that they can just stop doing business in any country that legislates against them.
For example, Facebook threatened last week to block Australians from sharing news stories on its service after the government unveiled a plan to make digital platforms pay for news content. Lawmakers wrapped up consultations about the legislation in August and a final version of the bill is being drafted.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he hopes Facebook won’t follow through on the threat and that they can come to a “sensible outcome.”
Source:- National Post
