Google announced this Wednesday (23) that it will not allow political ads in October’s municipal elections.
The measure was taken by the platform due to the resolution approved in February this year by the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) to restrict the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and determine the adoption of measures to combat the circulation of untrue or decontextualized facts.
In a note, Google informed that the restriction on ads will begin in May, when the TSE resolutions will come into force.
The company also stated that it supports election integrity. “We will update our Google Ads political content policy to no longer allow political ads to run in the country. This update will take place in May, with the 2024 election resolutions coming into force. We are globally committed to supporting integrity of the elections and we will continue to dialogue with authorities regarding this matter”, informed the company.
According to the TSE rules, social networks must take measures to prevent or reduce the circulation of untrue or out-of-contextual facts. Platforms that do not remove anti-democratic content and hate speech, such as racist, homophobic or Nazi speech, will be held responsible.
The resolution also regulates the use of artificial intelligence during the October municipal elections.
The rule prohibits manipulation of false content to create or replace a candidate’s image or voice with the aim of harming or favoring candidacies. Restricting the use of chatbots (software which simulates a conversation with people in a pre-programmed way) and avatars (virtual bodies) to mediate campaign communication with real people was also approved.
The objective of the TSE is to prevent the circulation of montages of images and voices produced by artificial intelligence applications to manipulate false statements by candidates and authorities involved in organizing the election.
Tags: Google ads politicians October elections
