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Senate: Obama Admin. wasn't prepared to handle Russian interference
Today, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence released a report (PDF) detailing the Obama administration's response to Russia's meddling in the 2016 election. The report says the Obama administration was not well-prepared to handle the unprecedented election interference and that the administration suffered from "paralysis of analysis."
Iowa Caucus results delayed, link to mobile app problems is unclear (updated)
Technology is already creating hiccups for the 2020 election mere hours into the caucuses. Democratic county chairs in Iowa told Bloomberg that precinct chairs were having problems downloading or signing into the mobile app used to tabulate and share results from the roughly 1,700 sites. They could still provide results through a phone line, but the problems threatened to delay reporting on results for hours.
West Virginia will allow people with disabilities to vote by smartphone
More governments in the US are offering the option to vote by smartphone. West Virginia's governor is poised to sign a bill requiring that all counties offer people with disabilities a way to vote online, just in time for the 2020 presidential election. It'd be the first state to provide the option. While the details have yet to be established, Secretary of State Mac Warner said it would most likely offer the mobile app Voatz, just like it did when it allowed online voting for overseas troops.
Lyft expands free voter rides to all US primaries
Lyft is bringing back its free rides for voters during the 2020 US election cycle, and this time it won't be limited to the final vote. The ridesharing firm is expanding its Voting Access Program to offer no-cost rides to polls through the entire primary calendar and general election, starting with the Iowa Caucus in early February. As before, it's partnering with nonprofits like the League of Women Voters, National Urban League and Voto Latino Foundation to make the rides available.
Twitter will let you report posts aimed at suppressing voters
Twitter is rolling out another tool meant to protect the 2020 US election. Today, it announced that during "key moments" of the election users will be able to report misleading information about how to participate in an election or other civic event. Users will be able to specify whether the misinformation contains false info about how or where to vote or register, if it intends to suppress or intimidate people from voting or if someone is misrepresenting their affiliation with a candidate, party, etc.
Seattle-area election will let residents vote by smartphone
Claims that Americans could vote by phone have usually been hoaxes, but Seattle-area residents will get to try the real thing before long. NPR has learned that a King County board of supervisors election on February 11th will let all eligible voters cast their ballots by smartphone -- the first time this has been an option in the country. You'll have the mobile voting option from today (January 22nd) through to the actual election day.
Cloudflare is providing free anti-DDoS services to US political campaigns
With a major election cycle less than a year away, Cloudflare says it's working with politicians in the US to secure their campaigns against cyberattacks through a program called Cloudflare for Campaigns. The service, which includes protection against denial-of-service (DDoS) attempts, is available to both House and Senate candidates for free as long as they meet specific fundraising requirements. House candidates will need to show at least $50,000 in donation receipts, while those running for a Senate seat will need $100,000 in donations. Presidential hopefuls are also eligible as long as they're polling above five percent nationally. Cloudflare says it will also offer the program for a fee to political campaigns outside of the US, as well those that don't meet the free requirements in the US.
Apple News partners on a presidential debate for the first time in February
Apple isn't just offering in-depth election news -- for 2020, it'll have a degree of participation in the process. Apple News will partner on its first political debate on February 7th, when it cooperates with ABC and WMUR-TV for the eighth Democratic debate in Manchester, New Hampshire. Apple hasn't outlined just what it will do as part of its co-hosting duties (we've asked it for details), but it's safe to presume that the debate will receive priority coverage in the News app.
Twitter is bringing back candidate labels for the 2020 US elections
Ahead of the US elections next year, Twitter says it's bringing back election labels, a feature the company introduced during the 2018 midterms to help increase the visibility of political tweets.
Bernie Sanders proposes $150 billion for public broadband improvements
Bernie Sanders has unveiled his plan for US broadband if he wins the 2020 presidential election, and it won't surprise you to hear that his strategy would focus on making high-speed internet as widely accessible as possible. He intends to earmark $150 billion (as part of the Green New Deal) for infrastructure grants and technical help for "publicly owned and democratically controlled, co-operative or open access" broadband. He would also ensure free broadband in public housing and override state laws (frequently written by private ISPs) that block municipal internet.
Google bans political ad targeting by affiliation and voter records
Google is the latest internet giant to rethink its approach to political ads. The company is limiting the targeting options for election ads to age, gender and general location. US advertisers will no longer be allowed to target based on political leanings or public voting records, for example. The new strategy will take effect in the UK next week (just before the country's General Election), in the EU by the end of 2019, and all other countries by January 6th, 2020.
WhatsApp banned over 400,000 accounts during Brazil's election
There's little doubt that Facebook had to deal with a ton of fake news during Brazil's 2018 election, but now it's clearer just how much was on its plate. A document submitted to an investigation of misinformation during the presidential election has revealed that WhatsApp banned over 400,000 accounts in Brazil between August 15th and October 28th of last year. While WhatsApp's privacy-protecting encryption prevented the team from banning users based on message content, it used behavior to crack down on "automated and bulk messaging activities."
Presidential hopeful Andrew Yang wants your data to be your property
Andrew Yang, the tech entrepreneur turned Democratic presidential hopeful, may not be a leading candidate in the race, but he has gained attention for his unique ideas about how to address technology -- the companies behind it and the impact it's having on the country. He has proposed giving every American $12,000 per year to soften the blow of jobs lost to automation, and he has toyed with campaigning via hologram. While these ideas have come out in bits and pieces, Yang officially revealed his comprehensive tech policy today.
Iowa asked researchers to break into a courthouse, then it arrested them
Ransomware attacks have cost cities like Atlanta and Baltimore millions of dollars and made it clear that state and municipal governments need to protect themselves against cyberthreats. With that in mind, the state of Iowa hired cybersecurity firm Coalfire to conduct a penetration test. The state asked the company to try to break into servers and physical buildings to see if it could gain access to sensitive data or equipment. When two Coalfire employees successfully broke into one Iowa courthouse, they were arrested, and the charges have not yet been dropped.
Facebook’s 2020 election 'protections' still allow for lying politicians
Today, Facebook outlined new measures to stop abuse and interference in the 2020 election. They include safeguards meant to make Facebook more secure and transparent, but they make one glaring omission. The new policies don't change Facebook's rules that allow political candidates to lie in their political ads.
Researchers easily breached voting machines for the 2020 election
The voting machines that the US will use in the 2020 election are still vulnerable to hacks. A group of ethical hackers tested a bunch of those voting machines and election systems (most of which they bought on eBay). They were able to crack into every machine, The Washington Post reports. Their tests took place this summer at a Def Con cybersecurity conference, but the group visited Washington to share their findings yesterday.
You'll be able to contribute to 2020 presidential campaigns via Alexa
With debates underway and just a few months until the first primaries, 2020 presidential election campaigns are in full swing, and you'll soon have another way to donate to your favorite candidate. Campaigns can sign up to receive contributions via Alexa and, from next month, you'll be able to donate between $5 and $200 to participating candidates through Amazon's voice assistant.
Russia accuses Facebook, Google of violating political ad laws
Russia is once again butting heads with internet giants over their political advertising. Communications regulator Roskomnadzor has accused Facebook and Google of allowing political ads during regional elections on September 8th despite being a ban on running ads both during the vote and the day before. Officials reportedly warned the companies on September 6th, but they reportedly popped up across the sites, including on YouTube.
Facebook, Google meet intelligence agencies to talk 2020 election security
Both intelligence agencies and tech companies are gearing up to secure the 2020 US election, and that apparently includes some heart-to-heart conversations between the two. Bloomberg sources have learned that Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Twitter are meeting members of the FBI, Homeland Security and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to discuss the industry's security strategy. This reportedly includes plans for tighter coordination between tech and government, as well as curbing disinformation campaigns.
Facebook once again tightens requirements for US political advertisers
Facebook is bracing itself for the 2020 US election by further toughening its requirements for political ads. The social network now requires more information from advertisers before it approves their disclaimers, including a tax-registered organization ID number, a Federal Election Commission ID number and a government website domain (either .gov or .mil). If they're a local politician or business that wants to run ads for social issues, they'll have to provide verifiable address, contact and website info or else accept that they can't use a registered organization's name in disclaimers.
