EU stress tests platforms' election readiness against manipulation

(ANSA) - ROME, APR 30 - The EU is gearing up for the election of the new European Parliament in June with the objective of protecting the integrity of electoral processes from disinformation amplified by the use of artificial intelligence (AI).
    In this context, the European Commission has conducted a simulation exercise with designated platforms under the Digital Services Act, Digital Services Coordinators overseeing national implementation, and civil society organizations, the EU executive said last week.
    The objective of the stress test was to verify their readiness against election manipulation and interference in relation to the European election.
    The stress test included a series of fictitious scenarios based on past experiences with attempts of election manipulation and interference, as well as cyber-enabled information manipulation and hybrid threats.
    The test on the platforms' readiness to tackle manipulative behaviour that could occur in the run-up to elections included information manipulation enabled by deep fakes or other uses of AI to distort and manipulate audio-visual content; attempts of suppression of voices, including through harassment and threats online; intentional spread of false information on the electoral process to mislead voters; online incitement to violence based on manipulated information; cyber-enabled activity that is used for information manipulation. (ANSA).