Social media platforms expand how citizens can engage in politics, but they may also be used to undermine full and fair democratic participation. In many elections, platforms have enabled foreign interference, threats against politicians, and disinformation campaigns about voting processes and political issues. Governments around the world have responded with policies to protect election integrity and democratic participation. However, government regulations and platforms’ own policies have provoked concerns about issues including election fairness and freedom of expression.
Our research asks:
- What policies are governments and platforms adopting to regulate communication during elections?
- How and why do these policies vary around the world?
- What policies can best protect full and fair democratic participation across a diverse set of countries and regions?
The research will be shared via academic publications and presentations, policy reports, and engagements with policymakers, civil society groups, and citizens.
This four-year project is led by CSDI’s Chris Tenove and Heidi Tworek, working with a team of collaborators within and outside Canada. Our key collaborators are:
- Wendy Hui Kyong Chun, Simon Fraser University
- Elizabeth Dubois, University of Ottawa
- Ivar Hartmann, Insper Institute of Education and Research, Brazil
- Christian Katzenbach, University of Bremen, Germany
- Molly S. Laas, Social Science Research Council, USA
- Emily Laidlaw, University of Calgary
- temi lasade-anderson, King’s College London, UK
- Jonathan Corpus Ong, University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA
- Taylor Owen, McGill University
- Yves E. Tiberghien, University of British Columbia
Research is supported by an Insight Grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council for “A Global Comparative Study of Policies to Protect Democratic Participation on Social Media Platforms,” with Tworek as the principal investigator. Additional support is provided by the Canadian Digital Media Research Network.