Waiting game

Follow Us Get the newsletter Hey it's Josh. The U.S. got through Election Day without any of the tech disaster scenarios that kept cybersecurity experts up at night. Polls opened and closed Tuesday without any systemic failures of voting machines or other electoral infrastructure. There were some coordinated attempts to confuse, intimidate or discourage people from voting, but experts said they were scattered and had limited impact. There was little evidence of a successful campaign by foreign state actors to undermine the election. However, the coming days could still offer the defining test of tech's misinformation policies. Well after midnight, both Twitter Inc. and Facebook Inc. attached warning labels to this statement from President Donald Trump: "We are up BIG, but they are trying to STEAL the Election. We will never let them do it. Votes cannot be cast after the Polls are closed!" There has been no evidence of election tampering. In addition to appending a warning note, Twitter also restricted users' ability to like or share the post, while Facebook did not. The president's post wasn't exactly surprising. Trump has already baselessly suggested that delayed results should be viewed with suspicion, and his campaign is likely to push back hard against anything it sees as an effort by the platforms to undermine its messaging. Tech companies had already made preparations for a scenario in which a candidate prematurely (or falsely) declared victory. Facebook and Google have suspended political advertising in the period after the election to avoid campaigns spreading such claims, and have been warning users that results may be delayed. Now, without a clear victor in the president election as states count the votes, the country could be headed for a protracted period of confusion and conflict. The tech companies may have avoided a major disruption on Election Day itself, but they are entering a dangerous stretch that could last days, or even longer. The longer that uncertainty persists, the greater chance there will be for other entities to use online platforms to stir up confusion or physical confrontations. Experts have identified the period after Election Day but before results are known as a logical time for foreign entities to increase their efforts to manipulate the online discussion. Nov. 3 may be over with, but there's still a ways to go. —Joshua Brustein If you read one thing Outside of the U.S., the initial public offering of Ant Financial has been held up by the Chinese government. The offering, which would have been the largest ever, was delayed after authorities announced they had discovered shortcomings that could, by some accounts, require the fintech giant to be overhauled.  Paid Post With capabilities across server, storage, and networking, QCT has disrupted the telco space to expedite network transformation with Intel and Rakuten Mobile to revolutionize the way carriers plan, deploy, and manage their infrastructure.  See How QCT and Rakuten Mobile Lead the Telecom Disruptions! QCT & Intel And here's what you need to know in global technology news Gig Economy companies including Uber and Lyft prevailed in passing Proposition 22, their very expensive bid to overturn a California law mandating that they classify their workers as employees.   Some U.S. Instagram users saw a cached banner on Tuesday that told them election day "tomorrow" instead of "today." Peter Thiel's Palantir is in talks to provide contact tracing tech to the U.K. government.    Like Fully Charged? | Get unlimited access to Bloomberg.com, where you'll find trusted, data-based journalism in 120 countries around the world and expert analysis from exclusive daily newsletters.   You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Fully Charged newsletter. Unsubscribe | Bloomberg.com | Contact Us Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington, New York, NY, 10022