Witzleb, Paterson & Richardson (eds.) – Big Data, Political Campaigning and the Law¶
Edited volume
The PDF appears to be the whole book (11 chapters, index from p. 236). This card is based only on the editors' introduction (chapter 1), which summarises all the chapters. Which chapters Rebekka uses is unknown. Chapter 5 (Steiger) has its own card. The copyright page says © 2020 (p. iv), while the citekey says 2019.
In brief
A multidisciplinary volume on how data-driven political campaigning works, what challenges it poses for privacy and democracy, and how it should be regulated (back cover; p. 5) [U]. The starting point is the Cambridge Analytica scandal and the investigations that followed in the UK and US (pp. 1–3) [U]. The book has three parts: the need for a ‘civic disposition’ (media theory, political philosophy, psychology), public international and European law, and domestic law in Canada, Australia, the US and the UK (pp. 5–13) [U]. The editors conclude that political actors' largely unregulated use of personal information is no longer acceptable (p. 14) [U].
Research question and main claim¶
- The book explores issues raised by the use of personal information in the electoral process, with perspectives from multiple disciplines and countries (p. 5) [U].
- Main claim: enhanced regulation of personal data in the political process is needed not only to safeguard individual privacy but also to protect public discourse and democratic participation (p. 14) [U].
- European courts and legislators are more alert to these dangers than those in North America and Australia (pp. 13–14) [U].
Theoretical perspective¶
- Varies by chapter. The introduction draws on the Enlightenment theories of Kant and Habermas on the public sphere and an ‘enlarged mentality’ (p. 13) [U].
- Part I uses media theory (Anderson's ‘imagined communities’), political philosophy (Pateman, Locke, Spinoza) and behavioural psychology (pp. 6–8) [U].
- Parts II and III are legal analyses (pp. 8–13) [U].
Empirical material and context¶
- Cambridge Analytica, the UK DCMS Committee's inquiry, the ICO's investigation and fine against Facebook, and the US FTC settlement (pp. 1–3) [U].
- Hacking of political parties' networks, with indications of state actors (pp. 4–5) [U].
- The book grew out of a roundtable in Prato, Italy, in June 2018, funded by Monash University's Faculty of Law (p. 5) [U].
Method¶
- Edited volume of chapters from different disciplines; mostly legal analysis [T – characterisation].
Chapter overview (from the introduction)¶
| Ch. | Authors | Topic | Page in intro |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Andrejevic & Volcic | Filter bubbles undermine the ‘civic disposition’ | 6 |
| 3 | Richardson | Neoliberal commodification of privacy; Locke vs. Spinoza | 6–7 |
| 4 | Burkell & Regan | Psychology of voter preferences; privacy protects voter autonomy | 7–8 |
| 5 | Steiger | International law and democracy (own card) | 8–9 |
| 6 | Fink | EU law, ECHR and free speech vs. disinformation | 9 |
| 7 | McDonagh | GDPR and processing for electoral activities | 9–10 |
| 8 | Bennett & McDonald | Canada: few rules protecting voter privacy against parties | 10 |
| 9 | Paterson & Witzleb | Australia: political parties exempt from the Privacy Act | 11 |
| 10 | Krotoszynski | US: First Amendment limits regulation | 11–12 |
| 11 | Hankey, Naik & Wright | The UK experience; GDPR, DPA 2018, PECR | 12–13 |
Key concepts¶
| Concept | How the source defines or uses it | Page | U/T |
|---|---|---|---|
| political micro-targeting | Combining data-driven voter research with personalised political advertising | 4 | U |
| civic disposition | A willingness to listen to another party's perspective and draw on different experiences | 5 | U |
| big data | Not just size and complexity of datasets, but AI tools that find ‘small patterns’ | 3 | U |
| group privacy | The question of whether broader protection is needed when analytics targets defined groups | 4–5 | U |
| influence industry | Over 300 companies using personal data and marketing techniques for political persuasion | 13–14 | U |
How privacy and private data are understood¶
- Privacy is both an individual right and a condition for democracy (p. 14) [U].
- The introduction asks whether it is acceptable that personal information disclosed for other purposes is repurposed for political gain (p. 4) [U].
- Big data challenges the focus on individual privacy, because targeting is based on group analyses, and blurs the line between identifiable and non-identifiable information; the book does not consider this in detail (p. 5) [U].
- Data security is a link between privacy and cybersafety (p. 5) [U].
- Citizens must be able to trust that data protection values (accountability, transparency, accuracy, security, fairness) also guide political actors (p. 14) [U].
Arguments and findings¶
- Political micro-targeting raises questions of manipulation and filter bubbles that ‘go to the heart of democratic systems of government’ (p. 4) [U].
- Canada, Australia and the US offer weak protection for voter privacy against political parties (pp. 10–12) [U].
- Some European governments are more actively defending democratic participation in a data-driven world (p. 13) [U].
- The private tech giants have particular responsibilities but seem slow to respond (p. 13) [U].
Limitations the source itself mentions¶
- The book cannot deal with all the issues in one volume, and does not consider in detail the challenges big data poses to data protection regimes that focus on identifiable individuals (p. 5) [U].
What the source does not cover¶
- Norway or the Nordic countries (based on the introduction) [T].
- The state's use of personal data outside elections and surveillance (based on the introduction) [T].
Possible relevance for the thesis¶
- The book provides comparative perspectives on how different states regulate (or do not regulate) political use of personal data [T].
- The introduction's question about group privacy (pp. 4–5) may be relevant if Norwegian documents treat privacy only as an individual matter [T].
- Rebekka should decide which chapters are relevant; the chapter overview above can help [T].
Connections to other sources¶
- Steiger 2019 – chapter 5 of this book (p. vi) [U].
- Hankey et al. 2018 – Hankey and Naik also wrote chapter 11; the introduction's summary of chapter 11 matches the conclusions in the 2018 report (‘intrinsic to our humanity’, a shift in culture) (pp. 12–13) [T].
- Bauman et al. 2014 – thematic: mass surveillance [T].
Key quotes¶
“Is there some need for broader group privacy protection, given that much of modern data analytics relies on classification and the analysis of defined groups” (p. 4)
“enhanced regulation of the use of personal data in the political process is needed not only to safeguard individual privacy but also for the protection of public discourse and democratic participation more broadly.” (p. 14)
“it is no longer acceptable that political parties and movements […] can make largely unregulated use of personal information for their respective purposes.” (p. 14)
“Our democracy will suffer if we do not address the new threats to privacy arising from data-driven political discourse.” (p. 14)
Open questions for Rebekka¶
- Which chapters of the book do you use, apart from Steiger?
- Should the book be cited as 2019 or 2020?
- Do Norwegian documents say anything about political parties' use of personal data, and is that part of your question?
- Is group privacy a theme in the Norwegian documents?