Showing papers in "Policy & Internet in 2014"

Investigating Political Polarization on Twitter: A Canadian Perspective

Abstract: This article investigates political polarization in social media by undertaking social network analysis of a sample of 5,918 tweets posted by 1,492 Twitter users during the 2011 Canadian Federal Election. On the one hand, we observed a clustering effect around shared political views among supporters of the same party in the Twitter communication network, suggesting that there are pockets of political polarization on Twitter. At the same time, there was evidence of cross-ideological connections and exchanges, which may facilitate open, cross-party, and cross-ideological discourse, and ignite wider debate and learning as they are observed by nonaffiliated voters and the media at large. However, what appeared to be far less likely was any increased willingness or tendency for committed partisans to shift their allegiances as a result of their Twitter engagements, and we postulate that Twitter usage at present is likely to further embed partisan loyalties during electoral periods rather than loosen them; a dynamic that would seemingly contribute to political polarization.

Clicktivism: A Systematic Heuristic

Abstract: This article argues that clicktivism is a legitimate political act. It emphasizes that such acts, through a recurrent negative discourse, have been marginalized. As a result, new modes of participation that draw upon the simplification of social connectivity have largely been ignored in the mainstream Political Science literature. In addressing this issue, the article develops a heuristic that identifies seven dimensions (or characteristics) of clicktivism. This new heuristic will allow for the analysis of clicktivism as a form of civic engagement separate from digital activism more broadly. Subsequently, the article applies the heuristic to several popular forms of clicktivism, including social buttons and the creation of memes, demonstrating both its utility and flexibility.

New Media, New Civics?

Abstract: Dissatisfaction with existing governments, a broad shift to “post-representative democracy” and the rise of participatory media are leading toward the visibility of different forms of civic participation. “Participatory civics” uses tools of participatory media and relies on theories of change beyond influencing representative governments to seek change. This article offers a framework to describe participatory civics in terms of theories of change used and demands places on the participant, and examines some of the implications of the rise of participatory civics, including the challenges of deliberation in a diverse and competitive digital public sphere.

Islamophobia and Twitter: A Typology of Online Hate Against Muslims on Social Media

Abstract: The Woolwich attack in May 2013 has led to a spate of hate crimes committed against Muslim communities in the United Kingdom. These incidents include Muslim women being targeted for wearing the headscarf and mosques being vandalized. While street level Islamophobia remains an important area of investigation, an equally disturbing picture is emerging with the rise in online anti-Muslim abuse. This article argues that online Islamophobia must be given the same level of attention as street level Islamophobia. It examines 500 tweets from 100 different Twitter users to examine how Muslims are being viewed and targeted by perpetrators of online abuse via the Twitter search engine, and offers a typology of offender characteristics.

Governments and Citizens Getting to Know Each Other? Open, Closed, and Big Data in Public Management Reform

Abstract: Citizens and governments live increasingly digital lives, leaving trails of digital data that have the potential to support unprecedented levels of mutual government-citizen understanding, and in turn, vast improvements to public policies and services. Open data and open government initiatives promise to "open up" government operations to citizens. New forms of "big data" analysis can be used by government itself to understand citizens' behavior and reveal the strengths and weaknesses of policy and service delivery. In practice, however, open data emerges as a reform development directed to a range of goals, including the stimulation of economic development, and not strictly transparency or public service improvement. Meanwhile, governments have been slow to capitalize on the potential of big data, while the largest data they do collect remain "closed" and under-exploited within the confines of intelligence agencies. Drawing on interviews with civil servants and researchers in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States between 2011 and 2014, this article argues that a big data approach could offer the greatest potential as a vehicle for improving mutual government-citizen understanding, thus embodying the core tenets of Digital Era Governance, argued by some authors to be the most viable public management model for the digital age (Dunleavy, Margetts, Bastow, & Tinkler, 2005, 2006; Margetts & Dunleavy, 2013).

Barriers to the Open Government Data Agenda: Taking a Multi-Level Perspective

Abstract: A loose coalition of advocates for Open Government Data (OGD) argue that such data has the potential to have a transformative impact by catalyzing innovation across sectors of the economy and by fostering democratic participation and engagement. However, there is limited evidence to date of the OGD agenda having such a transformative impact. This article applies the Multi-level Perspective (MLP); an approach more typically applied to study transitions to a sustainable society, to explore the nature of the barriers currently faced by the OGD agenda. It argues that such barriers exist in two forms: implementation barriers and barriers to use. The empirical results presented include survey responses measuring the perceptions of U.K. OGD community members of 33 barriers to the OGD data agenda. These results are analyzed to identify implications for OGD policy and practice. The article concludes with a start at establishing a theoretical grounding for the study of barriers to the OGD agenda.

The Medium and the Movement: Digital Tools, Social Movement Politics, and the End of the Free Rider Problem

Abstract: This is a response to the article by Ethan Zuckerman “New Media, New Civics?” published in this issue of Policy & Internet (2014: vol. 6, issue 2). Dissatisfaction with existing governments, a broad shift to “post-representative democracy” and the rise of participatory media are leading toward the visibility of different forms of civic participation. Zuckerman's article offers a framework to describe participatory civics in terms of theories of change used and demands places on the participant, and examines some of the implications of the rise of participatory civics, including the challenges of deliberation in a diverse and competitive digital public sphere. Zeynep Tufekci responds.

Elite Tweets: Analyzing the Twitter Communication Patterns of Labour Party Peers in the House of Lords

Abstract: The microblogging platform Twitter has gained notoriety for its status as both a communication channel between private individuals and as a public forum monitored by journalists, the public, and the state. Its potential application for political communication has not gone unnoticed; politicians have used Twitter to attract voters, interact with constituencies and advance issue-based campaigns. This article reports findings from the research team's work with 21 peers sitting on the Labour frontbench. The researchers monitored and archived the peers' activity on Twitter for a period of 3 months between June and September 2012. Using a sample of 4,363 tweets and a mixed methodology combining semantic analysis, social network analysis, and quantitative analysis, this article explores the peers' patterns of usage and communication on Twitter. Key findings are that as a tweeting community their behavior is consistent with other communities. However, there is evidence that a coherent strategy is lacking in their coordinated use of the platform. Labour peers tend to work in small, clustered networks of self-interest as opposed to collectively to promote party policy.

Privacy Expectations of Social Media Users: The Role of Informed Consent in Privacy Policies

Abstract: Social media process (sometimes large amounts of) personal data of their users, usually on the basis of informed consent. In this article, a comparison is made between, on the one hand, existing practices of social media regarding informed consent for using personal data of users and, on the other hand, user expectations with regard to privacy and informed consent. The comparison is made on the basis of a set of criteria for informed consent distilled from an analytical bibliography. Next, the privacy policies of a selection of eight social network sites and user generated content sites are analyzed using this set of criteria for informed consent. User expectations regarding these criteria were derived from survey results of a large EU-wide online survey (N = 8,621, 26 countries) on the awareness, values, and attitudes of social media users regarding privacy. We find that not all privacy policy criteria are important to users, but most criteria that are important to users can be found in most privacy policies.

Effects of Voting Advice Applications (VAAs) on Political Knowledge About Party Positions: Effects of VAAs on Political Knowledge About Party Positions

Abstract: Voting Advice Applications (VAAs) have experienced a rising demand in recent years, being an efficient and reliable way for voters to gain political information prior to elections. This article uses an online survey to examine the impact of the German VAA (the “Wahl-O-Mat”) on the political knowledge of its users concerning party positions during the 2009 German Federal Election. The article first assesses empirically the extent to which Wahl-O-Mat users are able to correctly identify party positions on relevant issues, and the extent to which they are misinformed. Multivariate analyses with a path model for categorical data are then undertaken to establish whether Wahl-O-Mat usage enhances political knowledge about party positions. It is shown that Wahl-O-Mat use has a positive effect on political knowledge, indicating that electoral effects can be partially explained by this change in the information level of users. However, it is also shown that political knowledge is very heterogeneous, and the level of confusion about party positions is high.

The Need for an Innovation Principle in Regulatory Impact Assessment: The Case of Finance and Innovation in Europe

Abstract: Many of Europe's economies are hampered by a waning number of innovations, which in part is attributable to the European financial system's aversion to funding innovative enterprises and initiatives. Specifically, Europe's innovation finance ecosystem lacks scale, plurality, and risk appetite. These problems could be addressed by new and creative approaches and technologies for financing dynamism in the economy, such as crowdfunding and general financial technology or “FinTech” innovation. However, these novel approaches may be held back by regulation that focuses on stability, avoiding forum shopping, and preventing fraud, to the exclusion of other interests, particularly ignoring innovation and renewal. This article argues that this could be addressed by adopting an “innovation principle” in regulatory impact assessment: prioritizing regulatory approaches that serve to promote innovation while also addressing other regulatory aims. Two case studies are presented to illustrate this approach.

Big Data and Positive Change in the Developing World

Abstract: This paper is the product of a workshop that brought together practitioners, researchers, and data experts to discuss how big data is becoming a resource for positive social change in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). We include in our definition of big data sources such as social media data, mobile phone use records, digitally mediated transactions, online news media sources, and administrative records. We argue that there are four main areas where big data has potential for promoting positive social change: advocacy; analysis and prediction; facilitating information exchange; and promoting accountability and transparency. These areas all have particular challenges and possibilities, but there are also issues shared across them, such as open data and privacy concerns. Big data is shaping up to be one of the key battlefields of our time, and the paper argues that this is therefore an opportune moment for civil society groups in particular to become a larger part of the conversation about the use of big data, since questions about the asymmetries of power involved are especially urgent in these uses in LMICs. Civil society groups are also currently underrepresented in debates about privacy and the rights of technology users, which are dominated by corporations, governments and nongovernmental organizations in the Global North. We conclude by offering some lessons drawn from a number of case studies that represent the current state-of-the-art.

Something Old and Something New: A Comment on “New Media, New Civics”

Abstract: This is a response to the article by Ethan Zuckerman “New Media, New Civics?” published in this issue of Policy & Internet (2014: vol. 6, issue 2). Dissatisfaction with existing governments, a broad shift to “post-representative democracy” and the rise of participatory media are leading toward the visibility of different forms of civic participation. Zuckerman's article offers a framework to describe participatory civics in terms of theories of change used and demands places on the participant, and examines some of the implications of the rise of participatory civics, including the challenges of deliberation in a diverse and competitive digital public sphere. Jennifer Earl responds.

National Identity, Ideological Apparatus, or Panopticon? A Case Study of the Chinese National Search Engine Jike: A Case Study of Chinese National Search Engine Jike

Abstract: This article addresses a major gap in the Internet and policy literature by exploring the symbolic, social, and political implications of Jike, China's national search engine. Through a case study of Jike, we demonstrate that semiotic and political economic perspectives could critically inform our understanding of complex information intermediaries. Semiotic analysis shows how Jike tried to tap into popular nationalism to brand itself strategically as friendly, “high tech,” and patriotic. A political economic analysis of Jike reveals the mechanisms through which a changing mode of digital propaganda production by the state attempts to use the market to subsidize the Party press's digital infrastructures and “thought work.” The article also raises awareness of Jike's potential surveillance capabilities, as the state advances its ambition for information control under the auspices of economic development and modernization of Chinese society. It concludes with a discussion of the implications of national search engines for Internet policies.

Civic Identity and the Question of Organization in Contemporary Civic Engagement: Civic Identity and the Question of Organization

Abstract: This is a response to the article by Ethan Zuckerman “New Media, New Civics?” published in this issue of Policy & Internet (2014: vol. 6, issue 2). Dissatisfaction with existing governments, a broad shift to “post-representative democracy” and the rise of participatory media are leading toward the visibility of different forms of civic participation. Zuckerman's article offers a framework to describe participatory civics in terms of theories of change used and demands places on the participant, and examines some of the implications of the rise of participatory civics, including the challenges of deliberation in a diverse and competitive digital public sphere. Chris Wells responds.

Online Civic Activism: Where Does It Fit?: Online Civic Activism: Where Does It Fit?

Abstract: This is a response to the article by Ethan Zuckerman “New Media, New Civics?” published in this issue of Policy & Internet (2014: vol. 6, issue 2). Dissatisfaction with existing governments, a broad shift to “post-representative democracy” and the rise of participatory media are leading toward the visibility of different forms of civic participation. Zuckerman's article offers a framework to describe participatory civics in terms of theories of change used and demands places on the participant, and examines some of the implications of the rise of participatory civics, including the challenges of deliberation in a diverse and competitive digital public sphere. Deen Freelon responds.

Theoretical Approaches to Digital Services and Digital Democracy: The Merits of the Contextual New Medium Theory Model: Theoretical Approaches to Digital Services and Digital Democracy

Abstract: This article develops a theoretical framework that can be used to analyze all types of political and administrative web applications Through a discussion and criticism of social construction of technology (SCOT), an earlier version of this model based on new medium theory (the NeMT model), Leavitt's “diamond” and Jane Fountain's “technology enactment” model, the article arrives at a model, called the “Contextual NeMT” model. This model focuses on how the specific affordances of the Internet are translated into specific political and/or administrative practices, and how these practices are produced through the interplay between and among discourses, actors, and technology. Finally, the article demonstrates the merits of the model by using it in the analysis of the digital practices of the municipality of Odder, a frontrunner in the development of digital services and e-democracy in Denmark.

Police Operations 3.0: On the Impact and Policy Implications of Police Operations on the Warez Scene: Police Operations on the Warez Scene

Abstract: Governments and private firms have sought to regulate online piracy through legislation, police enforcement, and lawsuits. This article evaluates the effectiveness of large-scale police operations that targeted the warez scene, the community of hackers responsible for much of the copyrighted content illegally distributed online. Using interrupted time series, we find no significant direct or indirect impact of large-scale police operations on the warez scene. We explain the lack of direct impact by the number of arrests made during the police operations. We explain the indirect impact of police operations by the high turnover of warez groups, the vacuum created by the removal of large, established warez groups, the online nature of the warez scene, and the constrains in deterrence power online.

What Potential for YouTube as a Policy Deliberation Tool? Commenter Reactions to Videos About the Keystone XL Oil Pipeline: What Potential for YouTube as a Policy Deliberation Tool?

Abstract: Social network sites have been proposed to influence the way interest groups and citizens interact on various policy topics. User reaction to information received on YouTube can be partially observed by examining comments provided as part of the interface. Using content analysis, this article explores the way YouTube users interact with information provided by media, interest groups, and other groups through user comments. While a large number of comments are found to be ad hominem or off-topic, in general, user comments on the controversial Canada–U.S. Keystone XL oil pipeline cover collectively the main topic areas found in the December 2, 2013 U.S. Congressional Research Service study of the issues. User comments also reflect a preferential network structure where the existence of a comment makes it more likely that someone will reply to commenters rather than the video itself. The article concludes with some comments on the potential of YouTube as a policy deliberation tool.

A Broken System of Self-Regulation of Privacy Online? Surveillance, Control, and Limits of User Features in U.S. Websites: Surveillance, Control, and Limits of User Features in U.S. Websites

Abstract: This article examines user control of privacy online as indicated by functional features of commercial websites. While prior studies have focused on what's written in privacy policy statements, systematic attention on the interactive aspects of the Web have been scant. This analysis, based on a sample of 398 commercial sites in the United States, shows that the more popular sites did not necessarily provide better privacy control features for users than sites that were randomly selected. In addition, there was no clear relationship between website characteristics and the functional features of privacy control. Implications are discussed for the current status of online privacy policy in the United States and the European Union.

Self-Regulation of Online Advertising: A Lesson From a Failure: Self-Regulation of Online Advertising

Abstract: An attempt in Israel to establish a regime of industry self-regulation of online advertising has failed. While the immediate reason was the disapproval of the Israeli Government's Antitrust Commissioner, we employ a questionnaire of industry representatives and a survey of 527 students to expose a significant gap between the views of the industry representatives and public positions regarding online advertising regulation. While the industry supports self-regulation of technical aspects of online advertising, the public prefers co-regulation of both technical aspects as well as the content of online advertising. The article suggests that in order to become accepted and practical, a new regulatory regime in the Internet arena should be adopted, via a co-regulatory rather than self-regulatory mode.

Birth of a Movement: The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement and the Politicization of Mexican Copyright: ACTA and the Politicization of Mexican Copyright

Abstract: The literature on social movements—national and transnational—and social media has tended to focus on cases from the global North rather than the South, raising questions about its applicability to countries with low Internet penetration rates and weak civil societies. To remedy this deficit, this article presents the case of the Mexican Stop Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) network. In 2010–11, a network of about a dozen underfunded copyright and Internet activists convinced the Mexican Senate to reject—unanimously—the ACTA, a U.S.-led plurilateral treaty that critics claimed would strengthen international intellectual property rights at the cost of fundamental Mexican Constitutional and human rights. This article argues that this victory was the result of activists' use of social media in a way that recognized the limits and possibilities within existing Mexican political arrangements. While Stop ACTA's success suggests social media's utility for social movements in other developing countries, it leaves open the question as to whether it can make up for weak civil society institutions over the long-term.

New Problems, New Publics? Dewey and New Media: New Problems, New Publics? Dewey and New Media

Abstract: This is a response to the article by Ethan Zuckerman “New Media, New Civics?” published in this issue of Policy & Internet (2014: vol. 6, issue 2). Dissatisfaction with existing governments, a broad shift to “post-representative democracy” and the rise of participatory media are leading toward the visibility of different forms of civic participation. Zuckerman's article offers a framework to describe participatory civics in terms of theories of change used and demands places on the participant, and examines some of the implications of the rise of participatory civics, including the challenges of deliberation in a diverse and competitive digital public sphere. Henry Farrell responds.

Participation, Civics and Your Next Coffee Maker: Participation, Civics and Your Next Coffee Maker

Abstract: This is a response to the article by Ethan Zuckerman “New Media, New Civics?” published in this issue of Policy & Internet (2014: vol. 6, issue 2). Dissatisfaction with existing governments, a broad shift to “post-representative democracy” and the rise of participatory media are leading toward the visibility of different forms of civic participation. Zuckerman's article offers a framework to describe participatory civics in terms of theories of change used and demands places on the participant, and examines some of the implications of the rise of participatory civics, including the challenges of deliberation in a diverse and competitive digital public sphere. Philip Howard responds.