Facebook Is Looking for Employees With National Security Clearances
Facebook Is Looking for Employees With National Security
Clearances
Social media giant wants help to spot future election
meddling
Russian group bought ads to sow discord during 2016
campaign
By Sarah Frier and Bill Allison October 16, 2017, 1:00 AM
PDT October 16, 2017, 9:23 AM PDT
Facebook Inc. is looking to hire people who have national
security clearances, a move the company thinks is necessary to prevent foreign
powers from manipulating future elections through its social network, according
to a person familiar with the matter.
Workers with such clearance can access information
classified by the U.S. government. Facebook plans to use these people -- and
their ability to receive government information about potential threats -- to
search more proactively for questionable social media campaigns ahead of
elections, according to the person, who asked not to be identified because the
information is sensitive. A Facebook spokesman declined to comment.
Job candidates like this are often former government and
intelligence officials or contractors. The status can carry over to
private-sector jobs, as long as the position still requires access to sensitive
information. Previously granted clearances become inactive when intelligence
workers leave government employment, but they can be reactivated on Facebook’s
behalf, the person said.
The Office of the National Director of Intelligence and
the Department of Homeland Security didn’t respond to requests for comment on
Sunday.
Facebook has been under pressure to address issues
related to potential political manipulation after it disclosed early last month
that it sold about $100,000 in ads during the 2016 presidential election to
buyers it later learned were connected to the Russian government. Special
counsel Robert Mueller, who is examining Russia’s interference in the 2016
presidential election as well as its possible collusion with associates of
President Donald Trump, is said to have a “red-hot’’ focus on how Russia used
social media platforms.
Without employees who can handle classified material,
Facebook would need to give government investigators access to its system to
investigate threats, according to Scott Amey, general counsel of the Project on
Government Oversight, a Washington-based group that studies national security
issues. So the move to hire people with clearances may be aimed at controlling
access to the inner workings of its platform, like code and user data, he said.
“Facebook may be doing this so things aren’t turned over
to government,” Amey said, adding that the company’s relationship with
government agencies should be transparent, including which policies the company
will implement to protect any classified information its employees view.
To receive classified information, Facebook itself would
need government approval as well, according to Alan Edmunds, a national
security lawyer. "You can’t just get a person with a security clearance
out of the clear blue and tell them to access classified information for a
business without a business itself having a clearance," he said.
With a facility clearance, Facebook employees could
access government databases that contain classified information on individuals
and organizations, and meet with intelligence officials to review documents,
Edmunds said.
Russia-financed Facebook ads that were turned over to
congressional panels addressed a broad range of issues, including the Black
Lives Matter movement. Senate Intelligence Chairman Richard Burr told reporters
at a news conference this month that the theme seemed to be “to create chaos at
every level.’’ The House Intelligence Committee hopes to release the ads as
soon as possible, its leaders have said.
The targeted spots were purchased by the Internet
Research Agency, a Russian firm with ties to the Kremlin. Facebook’s discovery
of the ads was aided by an earlier public U.S. intelligence report that named
the group, but future discoveries could be easier if the company doesn’t have
to wait for the public release of similar information.
Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg said last month
that Facebook plans to add more than 250 people across its teams that deal with
security and safety for the social network and to more than double the team
working on election integrity. He also said the company would seek to work more
closely with government officials to get information on what to investigate
ahead of elections.
For more on election interference, check out the
Decrypted podcast:
It’s common for private companies, such as military
contractors, information technology and engineering firms, to hire employees
with U.S. government-issued security clearance. Candidates with top-secret
clearance have been in high demand for years.
These types of employees are needed when private
companies interact and share information back and forth with government
agencies. If Facebook is going to cooperate with intelligence agencies to
identify potentially problematic ads and share that information with the
government, it will likely need workers with security clearance.
Facebook, Google and Twitter Inc. are set to testify to
Congress on Nov. 1 about Russia’s use of their services and ads to meddle in
U.S. elections.
— With assistance by Nafeesa Syeed
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