Earlier this week, the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence held a hearing on election security with testimony from tech leaders, including Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith. His written testimony—including policy recommendations—appears in this blog, “Securing U.S. Elections from Nation-State Adversaries.”
The hearing focused on attempts by several nations to interfere with U.S. elections through online deception. Smith urged Congress to enact a deepfake fraud statute; require AI system providers to use state-of-the-art provenance tooling to label synthetic content; and pass the bipartisan Protect Elections from Deceptive AI Act.
Thank you for reading. You’ll find additional tech policy news highlights and a featured podcast below.
This Week in Washington
- Bleeping Computer: The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) have been alerting the public about the false claims that U.S. voter registration data was compromised by cyberattacks. The agencies said that malicious actors intend to spread disinformation to manipulate public opinion, and added that if somehow foreign actors did get ahold of such information, it would not impact voting processes or results.
- Nextgov: The federal government and private sector corporations have collaborated on new, voluntary commitments to stop the creation of sexually abusive content through AI. Microsoft, Adobe, and OpenAI are just some of the companies that have signed commitments to prevent their AI tools from creating such content.
- The Hill: A U.S. House committee advanced the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) this week. The bill, which previously passed the U.S. Senate 91-3, still faces a future of uncertainty as both Republicans and Democrats have expressed concerns with the bill, including a “duty of care” provision that would require platforms to prevent and reduce harm to minors from, for example, content promoting suicide or eating disorders.
- FedScoop: A U.S. Senate panel passed the Government Service Delivery Improvement Act, which is meant to improve customer service interactions with government technology. This bill should make it easier and more efficient for people to access government services such as student loans and Social Security.
Article Summary
- Washington Post: Shortly after the federal government imposed sanctions on the Russian media outlet RT’s parent company, Meta moved to ban a variety of Russian state media outlets from its platforms. Meta had previously restricted the access of Russian state-owned media outlets on its platforms in the EU, and has now moved to a global ban due to alleged foreign election interference activity.
- The New York Times: California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law three bills this week that require social media companies to moderate the spread of election deepfakes in the state. This trio of laws has potential to pave the way for regulators country-wide to help slow the spread of manipulative content. However, the laws are likely to face legal challenges from social media companies.
- Associated Press: In an attempt to make Instagram safer for children, the platform is making teen accounts private by default. Starting this week, anyone below the age of 18 in the U.S., UK, Canada, or Australia who creates an Instagram account will be placed into restrictive teen accounts, and those already with accounts will be moved to this category as well.
- CBS News: A research team at Massachusetts General Hospital found a way to utilize AI to give people who lost their voice due to ALS the ability to speak once again. This clinical trial is known as “BrainGate 2” and works by translating brain activity into speech.
- Colorado Sun: Shortly after winning a $40.5 million federal grant to invest in a quantum computing hub in Colorado, members of a local consortium have acquired a 70-acre property in Arvada, a suburb of Denver, and attracted millions more in funding commitments. This week, Gov. Jared Polis joined other officials and members of the Elevate Quantum consortium for a groundbreaking event on the site, where 60,000 square feet of old, existing labs and offices will be turned into space for universities, startups, and tech companies to research and develop quantum computing technology.
- Wall Street Journal: The founder of Craigslist, Craig Newmark, plans to donate $100 million to bolster U.S. cybersecurity due to worries about foreign hackers and the risk they pose for the country. This money will be split in half between protecting infrastructure and educating people on safeguards. This commitment will be a part of the philanthropy he started, Craig Newmark Philanthropies, where he mainly donates to causes he views as protecting the country.
Featured Podcast
- BBC Tech Life
The Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT) started in 2010 following the Haiti earthquake, when they created a map to help responders navigate through the disaster. The team has since continued to grow and work in low and middle income countries that are often unmapped. Hear what Liz Chamberlain, co-executive director of HOT, has to say about how their work can improve lives and the technology they use to do it. (“Online Maps” – September 17, 2024)