Facebook Inc, under pressure over its role in possible Russian meddling in last year’s US presidential election, said it plans an election integrity initiative to protect Canada’s next vote from cyberthreats. Karina Gould, Canada’s minister of democratic institutions, will speak at a launch event next week, Facebook said Thursday in a statement announcing the project. A company spokeswoman declined to discuss details of the project, which follows a warning by Canada’s electronic spy agency in June that hackers will “very likely” try to influence Canada’s 2019 elections. The agency said it is advising all political parties on how to guard against cyberthreats.
Facebook, the world’s largest social network, said last week that an operation likely based in Russia had placed thousands of US ads with polarising views on topics such as immigration, race and gay rights on the site during a two-year period through May 2017.
The company on Wednesday introduced tougher rules on who can make money from advertising on its network, responding to criticism that it was too easy to profit from fake news and sensational headlines.
Full Article: Facebook to launch ‘election integrity initiative’ to prevent meddling of votes, ahead of Canadian elections.