Google Australia has taken to its blog to advise that it is beginning to gear up and get ready for the upcoming National Federal Elections, which are due to be held sometime in May this year.
The 4 key points of Google Australia’s plan include:
Helping voters access the information they need
Like most people at previous elections who have used Google to help them understand the electoral process and eventually vote. This time however, Google is working in partnership with the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) to help voters find the information and links you may need to not just enrol but also vote.
Better understanding political advertising and helping voters find information on candidates and parties
Google is working with the political parties to help them understand the best digital practices to help get their message out to the people. Google has also said it will be sharing its ad policies with political parties and candidates in the lead up to the May election.
Protecting election information online
Not only are Google doing their best to keep their own products secure but are offering help, expertise and in-person security training to the parties, election officials, journalists and other organisations with vested interests in the election.
Google has said it has been in Canberra over the past few weeks to provide training for government agencies and parties. This is all part of Google’s Advanced Protection Program and Project Shield which are the company’s strongest level of account security.
Navigating news
Lets be honest here, this is one the biggest things for tech company’s right now, fighting fake news. Google is very aware of this and for the 2019 Australian Federal Election the company has stated that it is taking this matter seriously. It has announced that its News Lab will support the Australian Associated Press (AAP) in its election verification service. This will send alerts to newsrooms around the nation.
Google will also offer workshops to help journalists access the latest tools and technology to tackle disinformation and support their coverage of the elections.
With just little over three months until the Federal Election 2019 it’s good to see Google help Aussies cut through the noise that usually comes with elections and hopefully provide accurate information and help all those involved tighten their security to fight fake news and any online attacks.
