OTTAWA — An international report says Canada has taken “commendable” steps to safeguard this fall’s federal election from foreign interference. But the report says this country needs to do more to regulate social media giants and should impose “major sanctions” on those that fail to control fake news and other forms of disinformation on their platforms. The report is part of a series of assessments conducted by the Centre for International Governance Innovation and the Transatlantic Commission on Elections Integrity for the Alliance of Democracies Federation. “The most pervasive concern in the 2019 Canadian federal election will likely be disinformation campaigns that undermine social cohesion by amplifying extremist narratives and discrediting leaders,” the report says. In particular, it says it’s time to impose regulations on social media giants rather than expect them to voluntarily take steps to control disinformation on their platforms.

Source: National Post June 18, 2019 20:26 UTC