The high-profile 2020 U.S. Election invited intense scrutiny on how social media platforms approached disinformation and other election integrity issues. A number of organizations (including Mozilla) investigated platform policies to evaluate what measures were in place, how they were enforced, and how effective they were.
What can we learn from these unprecedented interventions by platforms, ranging from labeling to ad bans to de-platforming a head of state? Will this level of attention to election integrity by platforms continue for upcoming elections globally? This session will be an opportunity to hear from researchers who investigated platforms’ policies in the U.S. and to share concerns, ideas, and learnings in order to hold these platforms to account.
For anyone interested in pursuing this work, we could have a list serv to continue conversations -- an open space where folks can ask questions, request support, or bounce ideas around.
What is the goal and/or outcome of your session?:The session will start with about 15-20 minutes of opening remarks from researchers who conducted this research, followed by 15-20 minutes of Q&A and finally a brainstorm about what steps we should take for platform accountability in upcoming elections.
We would like to be able to share our takeaways from this work that could be useful for others and also build connections with anyone interested in platform accountability around election-integrity. That way we can share information, learnings and ideas moving forward. It would also be ideal to gain an understanding of what concerns folks have about upcoming elections and how platforms could pose a threat to election-integrity.
How will you deal with varying numbers of participants in your session?:If there is a very large group and we won't be able to have a meaningful brainstorm and discussion, we'll break into smaller groups and have a designated note-taker to report back. If it's quite small, we'll have some sample questions to jump start the Q&A
Jon Lloyd is Head of Campaigns at the Mozilla Foundation.
Kaili Lambe is Senior U.S. Campaigner at Mozilla, where she works on advocacy efforts for a healthier and open internet.
Christine works as an independent researcher for Mozilla Foundation, where she has focused on platform transparency and accountability, misinformation and worked on the *Privacy Not Included: Valentine's Day Guide.
Alan is a senior advisor at the Mozilla Foundation, where he works on platform accountability, misinformation, and the "Reimagine Open" project.