Politics

Broadcast moratorium before elections is ‘ripe for manipulation’ by bad faith actors, says Darragh O’Brien

Coimisiún na Meán tells Minister review of existing ban on broadcasting election-related issues to be finalised in October

Rise of disinformation ... presents a real danger to our democracy," says Darragh O’Brien. Photograph: Gareth Chaney/ Collins Photos

Martin Wall
Tue May 7 2024 - 06:00

Bad actors – particularly those using artificial intelligence – could manipulate the current moratorium on the broadcasting of election-related material in the hours before polling to undermine the democratic process, Minister for Local Government Darragh O’Brien has said.

In a letter to the broadcasting regulator Coimisiún na Meán, he highlighted that restrictions on TV and radio stations covering material related to elections on the eve of polling did not apply to those providing content online.

“The rise of disinformation and electoral interference by bad faith actors from foreign or domestic sources presents a real danger to our democracy. Al has turbocharged that threat. The gap in standards between to online and broadcast media is a chink in the armour of the State in protecting our democracy,” the Minister said in a letter sent on April 23rd.

“A targeted social media campaign from potential bad actors in the hours before and during polling can only be met with silence from the broadcast media. I believe this is ripe for manipulation.”

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In reply, Coimisiún na Meán told the Minister it shared his concern about the risk of last-minute online manipulation affecting the integrity of the election process. However, it said its own research had found there were different views about the existing moratorium.

“Broadcasters support the removal of the moratorium but the views of the public are mixed. In addition we have found that a range of other jurisdictions have in place a moratorium before elections and in some jurisdictions the moratorium is being extended to social media platforms,” the commission’s executive chairman Jeremy Godfrey said.

The existing moratorium arrangements, which prevent the broadcasting of election-related material after 2pm on the eve of polling day, seems set to remain in place for the local and European elections scheduled to take place next month.

The commission told Mr O’Brien it planned to conduct research before and after the June elections “to gather evidence about voter behaviour and the sources of news and information that influence their votes”.

“Coimisiún na Meán will consider this research in combination with other evidence and will take a view as to whether the moratorium should be amended or removed. We plan to conclude this review by October and will publish any updated guidelines shortly thereafter.”

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The Minister said the Broadcasting Act 2009 set out specific standards on broadcasters in the jurisdiction which did not apply to those who provided online content. “The divergence in standards is of particular note in the broadcast moratorium period preceding polling day.”

Coimisiún na Meán said the forthcoming elections would be the first since guidelines under new digital services legislation came into effect. It said these measures which were “particularly relevant in the event of last-minute electoral manipulation”. They included “information on voting processes to reduce the potential harm of high impact issues such as manipulated images, voice recording or deepfakes, for example of political actors contending in elections”.

Martin Wall

Martin Wall

Martin Wall is the former Washington Correspondent of The Irish Times. He was previously industry correspondent

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