With the U.S. Election Day approaching, updates are being made on current efforts and progress in initiatives, tools, and protections:

Ensuring people access reliable information

Leading up to the election, the focus lies on providing individuals with high-quality, unbiased information from non-partisan entities. Various features and partnerships have been established to assist in finding details about candidates, voting procedures, and polling stations:

• Explore: Similar to prior elections, a feature on Explore is being rolled out to aid people across the U.S. in accessing accurate information on voter registration. By searching for details on the voter registration process in your state, aggregated resources from state election offices facilitated by Democracy Works will soon be accessible to all U.S. users.
• YouTube: In the upcoming weeks, viewers in the U.S. will encounter several features connecting them with valuable election information. Information panels above search results may highlight federal election candidates, outlining candidate specifics like their political affiliation, with links to Google Search and the candidate’s official channel. Additionally, reminders about voting locations and methods shall be displayed on the YouTube homepage in the final stages of the campaign.
• Google Play: A new badge has been launched for applications from official government bodies. This enables directing individuals to trustworthy information, including voting particulars.
• Gen AI products: To maintain the credibility and accuracy of information on topics such as current candidates, voting procedures, and election outcomes, restrictions for election-related queries have been incorporated into various Gen AI products like Search AI Overviews, YouTube AI-generated summaries, Gems, and image generation. In instances where mistakes can occur during learning phases or while breaking news emerges, a direct link to Google Search for the latest and precise information is provided on Gemini-based queries.

Monitoring and proactively addressing abuse trends

Constant monitoring of influence operations and cyber threats is conducted by our threat intelligence teams across our platforms and the broader ecosystem. Notable observations include APT42, an Iranian government-backed threat actor engaged in targeted phishing campaigns against accounts associated with Israeli and U.S. officials, including those linked to the presidential election. Although the use of AI by malicious actors is aimed at enhancing the speed or scale of their propaganda efforts, we utilize AI tools to enhance detection of harmful content and counter their strategies.

Vigilance is sustained in detecting and tackling new content or methods that contravene our established product policies, such as manipulated media or blatantly false assertions that could undermine faith in democratic processes. Enforcement of these policies is irrespective of political alignment or content.

Enhancing security measures for vulnerable users

Understanding threat actor patterns assists in protecting user data, with a special focus on safeguarding high-risk individuals during elections. Top-notch security technologies are continuously developed, and free trainings and tools are offered to vulnerable categories like elected officials, campaign personnel, government representatives, and journalists:

• Advanced Protection Program: High-risk users are urged to enroll in Google’s free Advanced Protection Program, which now includes passkeys for heightened account security.
• Security workshops and keys: Collaboration with neutral bodies like Defending Digital Campaigns has facilitated security training sessions for numerous local campaign staff from all political affiliations and electoral employees across all U.S. states. This year, 100,000 Titan security keys are distributed to high-risk users.
• Workspace For Campaigns — Account Security Fundamentals: Campaigns utilizing Workspace are encouraged to opt for Workspace for Campaigns, a one-click facility to swiftly configure essential security settings for the entire team. This feature is available to eligible campaigns supported by Defending Digital Campaigns.
• Project Shield: Websites supporting the election are recommended to register for Project Shield to enhance stability during the election period. The platform guards against distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks and traffic spikes, offering free protection to websites hosting election-related information.