Microsoft steps up to protect 2024 elections worldwide

Microsoft has announced a comprehensive plan to safeguard the integrity of the 2024 elections worldwide, encompassing five key initiatives. 

These measures aim to empower voters, candidates, political campaigns, and election authorities, ensuring a secure and transparent electoral process.

“Given the technology-based nature of the threats involved, it’s important for governments, technology companies, the business community, and civil society to adopt new initiatives, including by building on each other’s work,” says the Redmond-based tech giant in the announcement.

Moving on, Microsoft will be introducing “invisible” digital watermarking credentials called C2PA, much like how deepfakes and AI-generated images are tagged. When you encounter an image or video that contains C2PA credentials, you’ll be able to learn more about its creator and origin by clicking on an embedded pin that will reveal the asset’s detailed history.

The Redmond-based tech giant will also help political campaigns with cybersecurity and AI by forming a new “Campaign Success Team” and further support legal changes to protect elections from deepfakes. 

This law basically bans AI-made fake videos of federal candidates in political ads, except for parodies, satire, and news use.

Officials can also quickly get expert help from Microsoft if they face security problems through its “help desk” for elections worldwide. This new service adds to existing security programs like Azure for Elections, which helps U.S. election agencies.

United States will start its presidential election on November 5, 2024.