Research articles on INFORMATION & DATA

Political micro-targeting: a Manchurian candidate or just a dark horse?

Balázs Bodó, University of Amsterdam
Natali Helberger, University of Amsterdam
Claes de Vreese, University of Amsterdam
PUBLISHED ON: 31 Dec 2017 DOI: 10.14763/2017.4.776

Political micro-targeting has become a popular topic after the surprise results of the 2016 US presidential election, the UK vote on leaving the European Union, and a number of general elections in Europe in 2017. Yet, we still know little about whether PMT is a tool with destructive potential or if it’s “just” a new phenomenon to be incorporated into our political processes.

Two crates of beer and 40 pizzas: the adoption of innovative political behavioural targeting techniques

Tom Dobber, University of Amsterdam
Damian Trilling, University of Amsterdam
Natali Helberger, University of Amsterdam
Claes de Vreese, University of Amsterdam
PUBLISHED ON: 31 Dec 2017 DOI: 10.14763/2017.4.777

This study examines the conditions under which political behavioural targeting occurs in multi-party democracies, and explains differences between parties.

WhatsApp in Brazil: mobilising voters through door-to-door and personal messages

Mauricio Moura, The George Washington University
Melissa R. Michelson, Menlo College
PUBLISHED ON: 31 Dec 2017 DOI: 10.14763/2017.4.775

The Brazilian 2014 elections were the first to heavily apply Whatsapp as a micro-targeting tool. This paper aims to test the effectiveness of Whatsapp compared to more traditional approaches. First, we find that short videos delivered via WhatsApp are a powerful method of increasing turnout among teen voters. Second, we add Brazil to the list of countries in which the traditional method of door-to-door canvassing has been proven a powerful method of mobilising voters.

Internet policy and Australia’s Northern Territory Intervention

Ellie Rennie, Swinburne University of Technology
Jake Goldenfein, Swinburne University of Technology
Julian Thomas, RMIT University
PUBLISHED ON: 14 Mar 2017 DOI: 10.14763/2017.1.456

This paper is part of Australian internet policy, a special issue of Internet Policy Review guest-edited by Angela Daly and Julian Thomas. Introduction In 2007, the Australian government took a dramatic new approach to the governance and management of remote Indigenous communities. The ‘Northern Territory Intervention’, as it became commonly known, was introduced as a means to combat child abuse and domestic violence in remote Indigenous communities, and included far-reaching changes to welfare administration, employment programmes and policing. Although the Intervention, which persisted until 2012, has been the subject of a great deal of public commentary and critique, one dimension has …

Private ordering and the rise of terms of service as cyber-regulation

Luca Belli, Fundação Getulio Vargas Law School
Jamila Venturini, Fundação Getulio Vargas Law School
PUBLISHED ON: 29 Dec 2016 DOI: 10.14763/2016.4.441

Internet intermediaries unilaterally define their terms of service (ToS) and enforce them privately by shaping the architectures of the networks and platforms under their control. Based on empirical evidence, Belli and Venturini argue that ToS and their implementation affect users’ rights.