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Russia, Iran and China are "stepping up" efforts to inflame divisions in the United States ahead of the November presidential election, a senior Justice Department official said.
The trio seeks to "distort the views" of American voters, said Matthew Olsen, assistant attorney general for national security, writes Bloomberg.
The US has already taken steps this month to thwart what it says are Kremlin-backed influence campaigns aimed at meddling in US elections. But Olsen warned that the US is unlikely to be able to completely eliminate foreign influence campaigns, given the disparate and fragmented social media environment.
Federal and state officials are bracing for a flurry of efforts to influence the run-up to and outcome of the Nov. 5 U.S. presidential election, from influence campaigns to cyberattacks. The US has identified Russia as its main concern, warning that it is capable of large-scale and advanced campaigns.
Olsen added that social media and other telecommunications companies are being exploited by adversaries, and that the Justice Department has an obligation to share information about where Russia, China or Iran are using their platforms to spread propaganda and disinformation.
"The reality is that the intelligence community, including the FBI, can see a lot of this activity that maybe these companies don't," he said, adding that it's a two-way street where social media companies can share information with FBI.
Concerns about government enforcement of FBI warnings to social media companies reached the Supreme Court earlier this year. Although the court sided with President Joe Biden's administration, the Justice Department unveiled a new policy earlier this month that includes refraining from pressuring social media sites to remove or block content.
Elections in the USA-2024 - the latest news
US presidential candidate from the Republican Party, Donald Trump, refused to participate in the second televised debate with his Democratic rival, Kamala Harris. Trump announced this on his social network Truth Social. He compared Harris to "a boxer who lost a fight and wants revenge."
Influential Republican Lindsey Graham said he was disappointed with Trump's performance in the Harris debate.
