Jun 25, 2018 - Technology

Report: Tech firms, federal officials talked election security in May

Scott Rosenberg

A roll of "I Voted" stickers — Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Representatives from eight leading tech companies met last month with federal officials at Facebook's headquarters in Menlo Park to discuss ways to protect November's midterm elections, according to a New York Times report.

Why it matters: The companies at the meeting were a roster of industry power, including Apple, Amazon, Google, and Microsoft. Two of them, Facebook and Twitter, have faced particularly strong criticism for failing to limit the spread of misinformation on their platforms during the 2016 presidential election.

What happened: According to the Times story, the meeting was "tense," the companies did not receive much guidance or information from the government officials, and one company representative felt the industry was being left "on their own to counter election interference."

Correction: The second paragraph has been rewritten to distinguish which companies have been criticized for not policing misinformation on their platforms.

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Report: Tech firms, federal officials talked election security in May

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