Social media giants 'aware' of consequences of failure to stop election disinformation

The Electoral Commission still does not have legal powers to direct social media companies to take down online material that could damage the electoral process or to properly label political advertising. Picture: Pexels

Social media companies are “very conscious” that their platforms can cause “quite serious damage” to democracy and the implications “aren’t good” for them if they do not remove such material during the upcoming election campaigns, the country’s electoral authority has warned.

Art O’Leary, chief executive of the Electoral Commission, said that for a tech giant to be accused by the commission of impacting the outcome of an election would be a “huge” reputational issue for them.