Tech Companies Work With Agencies to Ensure Election Security

Google, Microsoft, Twitter and Facebook announced that they have expanded their group with the addition of new partners and met with representatives from the Department of Homeland Security, Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the FBI to discuss efforts to protect the upcoming presidential elections from disinformation campaigns and foreign interference, the New York Times reported Wednesday.

“In preparation for the upcoming election, we regularly meet to discuss trends with U.S. government agencies tasked with protecting the integrity of the election,” a spokesman for the group said in a statement. “For the past several years, we have worked closely to counter information operations across our platforms.”

The group now includes Wikimedia Foundation, Reddit, LinkedIn, Verizon Media and Pinterest. The Department of Justice’s national security division and DHS’ Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency also take part in meetings.

The group of tech companies held a meeting Wednesday with agencies to discuss and share the illegal activities and deceptive behavior they have observed across their platforms.

“We discussed preparations for the upcoming conventions and scenario planning related to election results,” the spokesman said. “We will continue to stay vigilant on these issues and meet regularly ahead of the November election.”