Facebook sends letter to ECP; to initiate crackdown against fake accounts

KARACHI: Social media giant Facebook sent a letter to the Election Commission of Pakistan on Thursday apprising of its attempts to promote democracy, and ensuring fair and free elections on July 25.

According to the letter, the social media platform has designated special teams ahead of the elections to have a crackdown against the fake accounts and prevent online abuse on the website.

“We have dedicated teams working on upcoming elections around the world, including Pakistan, to help detect and prevent malicious actors or abuse on our platform. This work includes removing fake accounts, increasing ads transparency and reducing the spread of false news. We are also actively working to secure candidate and party pages to protect them from hacking and impersonation and will be sending out security emails to admins of such pages,” the letter read.

Facebook will also be facilitating the voters in the election process, in a bid to work closely with the ECP.

“We would also like to serve the Facebook community in Pakistan with a vote reminder at the top of their News Feed and to promote the ECP’s 8300 SMS service, which will allow Pakistanis on Facebook to easily access information about voter record and their polling station,” it further mentioned.  

Earlier the social media giant said in a statement that Facebook has ramped up its efforts to ensure they are doing everything they can to prevent abuse, working in collaboration with the ECP to better understand and address the specific challenges faced here.

Facebook takes steps to protect Pakistan elections from abuse

Facebook said it is taking various steps ahead of the July 25 election

"Facebook has incredible potential to be a positive force for democracy around the world. Facebook gives a voice to people of all ages and political beliefs, it encourages debate and the healthy exchange of ideas, and it makes leaders more accountable to their constituents," the statement read.