Data & Democracy Political microtargeting: A threat to electoral integrity?

Political actors have always tried to influence citizens, win elections, and gain power. But, as technology progresses, new methods of political communication have come up that may challenge the integrity of our elections and the balance of power within our democracies. Political microtargeting (PMT) may be such a new method. PMT is a way to capture the attention of citizens who are on the one hand very reachable, because they carry their phones with them at all times, because their whereabouts are tracked, and because their personal data such as home addresses are collected on a large scale. But on the other hand these citizens are very difficult to get through to, because the media environment produces a cacophony of potentially attention-grabbing impulses. It is in this overstimulating landscape that knowledge about individuals and about what makes them tick translates into attention, and, most importantly, increases the chances of exercising influence. There is concern about PMT’s impact on the integrity of our elections. But knowledge about PMT is scarce, especially in a European context. This dissertation aims to assess if, how, and the extent to which PMT threatens electoral integrity in a European, multi-party setting.