Google: Mitigating disinformation and foreign influence through social media a joint effort

Google: Mitigating disinformation and foreign influence through social media a joint effort

Google Australia believes long term success in mitigating disinformation and foreign influence through social media rests on the development of a culture of online safety across society, including through ongoing "collaboration" between the likes of industry, the technical community, and government.


According to Google, such efforts must be partnered with efforts to educate users and organisations, from school students through to senior citizens and company employees on how to secure their online presence and to "apply critical thinking to the information they see and consume". 


The remarks were made in the company's submission [PDF] to the Select Committee on Foreign Interference through Social Media, which also contained an overview of the work its parent company has done to counter coordinated influence operations and other government-backed attacks.


In its submission to the committee looking into the risk posed by foreign interference through social media, the local arm of the search giant said it takes its responsibility "very seriously".


"How companies like Google address these concerns has an impact on society and on the trust users place in our services," it wrote.

"We believe that meeting it begins with providing transparency into our policies, inviting feedback, enabling users to understand and control their online engagement, and collaborating with policymakers, civil society, and academics around the world in the development of sensible, effective policies, and processes."


In its submission, Google said algorithms cannot determine whether a piece of content on current events is true or false, nor can they assess the intent of its creator just by reading what's on a page. It said, however, there are c ..

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