Elections: Subversion
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has been of the potential impact of foreign broadcasting on elections.
Answered by Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Misinformation and disinformation represent sustained challenges to electoral integrity. It is, and will always be, an absolute priority to protect our democratic processes. The Government remains well prepared to ensure the integrity and security of UK democratic processes, with robust systems in place to protect against a range of threats, including to the information environment around elections.
The Joint Election Security and Preparedness Unit coordinates the cross-government response to election security threats, and the Defending Democracy Taskforce has a mandate to address the full range of threats to UK democracy. JESP and DDTF work closely with DCMS, which has policy responsibility for managing the overarching risk posed by online mis- and disinformation.
The government recognises that deceptive coordinated or automated inauthentic activity is an ongoing challenge. Under the Online Safety Act, platforms must address state-backed activity that meets the Foreign Interference Offence threshold and must also consistently enforce their own terms of service against deceptive behaviour, including abuse of reporting and moderation systems. Ofcom has robust enforcement powers to enforce compliance.
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