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[thread]
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From: Gur Bligh <gb2171@columbia.edu>
To : <CPC@emoglen.law.columbia.edu>
Date: Sun, 23 Apr 2006 16:27:06 -0400
Paper 1: Political campaigns in the 21st Century - a "mark? ?US-ASCII?Q?etplace of voters"?
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Political campaigns in the 21st Century - a "marketplace of voters"?
"If you own a Ford Explorer and you garden and like the outdoors and you're
over 50, there might be a high likelihood that you care about tort reform"
[1].
One of the most dramatic changes created by the internet driven-data
mining-surveillance society which we explored in the course is in the
political field. No doubt the growing influence of the internet in politics
may promote important democratic values. As a recent study shows, the
internet encourages greater participation by young voters and small donors,
makes it easier for small donors to connect with others and be politically
active and encourages first time donors to contribute to electoral campaigns
[2]. Generally, it seems that the internet plays a significant role in
encouraging wider-range grassroots political participation and lowering
entry barriers for new and low-funded candidates. Thus, it may decrease the
corrupting influence of big-money in politics and "level the playing field".
However, there is also a deeply worrying side to the technological
driven changes in the political arena. Private political campaign
consultants and the major political parties are creating vast databases, and
using data mining and e-marketing to get their targeted political messages
to voters. A political consulting firm called "Aristotle International",
created a database with detailed profiles of 150 million registered voters.
The database is based upon public databases such as registered voter records
(which in many states contain private information) and FEC contributor
lists. These lists are enhanced with private data gathered by commercial
information brokers. Aristotle sold access to its database to most of the
current US senators and a significant portion of other national and state
candidates [3]. Similarly, the two major political parties created their own
sophisticated databases and data-mining apparatuses. The RNC's "Voter Vault"
and the DNC's "DataMart" contain detailed information on each of the 168
million registered voters in the country [4]. The typical -
voter-registration records, census reports and consumer data-mining
information - is enhanced with information gathered by the party through
telephone or door-to-door canvassing over the years and with mailing lists
gathered by ideologically related nonprofit groups [5].
These new resources dramatically transform the ability of campaigns to
address individualized messages to voters. The messages can be delivered not
only in the form of a targeted e-mail or ads on web sites, but may
specifically "follow" the voter in his surfing. For instance, "if somebody
shows interest by going to the politics page, then you follow them around
the site, and only serve ads if they fit certain criteria" [6]. Similarly,
if the candidate wishes to press on a subject, he can buy Google sponsored
links regarding the specific issue or population he is targeting, from "stem
cell research" to "employment Ohio" [7].
The most obvious danger in this brave new world is in the loss of our
political privacy. Especially as political parties and consultants share our
private information with commercial parties which can widely disseminate it
for various purposes. Such a breach of our privacy may have a chilling
effect upon voter's willingness to support unpopular political causes, or to
support causes that are unpopular in the voter's immediate circle. Voters
will become increasingly reluctant to register to vote (and disclose private
information), may avoid political contributions and generally refrain from
political activity which may "out" them. Thus, a pro-choice employee may be
reluctant to support this cause, if his pro-life employer could relatively
easily gather personal political data and screen his employees for
"unapproved" political views.
Furthermore, these new developments may totally alter the nature of
the political process itself. First of all, the result of these changes may
well be an exclusion of the under-privileged segments of society from the
political process. If according to the statistical model they are not likely
to vote - why address them at all? [8] As the action moves to the on-line
arena, potential voters who have no access to the internet, or are just not
so interested in the process, will not get any information on the views of
the candidates and will effectively be left out of the game.
Even more importantly, it seems that these new developments are
twisting the whole concept of democratic elections. In our basic, republican
view of politics, elections are based upon the notion of a "marketplace of
ideas" in which each candidate presents her "merchandise" - her character
and her version of the public good - and the voters choose according to
their preferences. In the new world we are approaching there is no longer a
"public good" presented by a candidate or a general message the candidate
wishes to present to the voters. There will not even be a very distorted and
simplified sound-bite version of the public good of the kind we got used to
in the last decades. Instead, each voter will be fed with a personalized
message that answers her specific concerns. The candidate will not have to
present a coherent portrait of her views and there would be no meaningful
public debate. On the contrary, the candidate could offer different and even
conflicting views on the issues, according to the specific voter it is
approaching. Furthermore, since candidates may use the detailed voter
information in the process of gerrymandering (and in fact already do)[9],
they even have an ability to shape their electorate. The result is a total
reversal of the concept of democratic elections as we know it. The candidate
chooses how to target us, which version of herself to present to us, and
even whether she wants us in her electoral district. In effect, instead of
the voters choosing the candidate, the candidate will be choosing us. It may
still be a "marketplace" but we will be the commodity.
[1] Jon Gertner, "The Very, Very Personal Is the Political", New York Times,
February 15, 2004, at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/15/magazine/15VOTERS.html
[2] Institute for Politics Democracy & The Internet, "Small Donors and
Online Giving: A study of Donors To The 2004 Presidential Campaign", at:
http://www.ipdi.org/UploadedFiles/Small%20Donors%20Report.pdf
[3] Christopher D. Hunter, "Political Privacy and Online Politics: How
E-Campaigning Threatens Voter Privacy", 7(2) First Monday (2002),
at: http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue7_2/hunter/index.html
[4] Daniel Tynan, "GOP Voter Vault Shipped Overseas", PC World, September
24, 2004, at: http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,117930,00.asp
[5] Supra note 1.
[6] Zachary A. Goldfarb, "Campaigns Turning More to Online Videos", The
Washington Post, April 3, 2006, at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/02/washington/02campaign.html?ex=1145937600
<http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/02/washington/02campaign.html?ex=1145937600&
en=db33e22096ba69e5&ei=5070> &en=db33e22096ba69e5&ei=5070
[7] Steven Johnson, "Why the campaigns should advertise in your search
results", Slate, October 13, 2004, at: http://www.slate.com/id/2108170/
[8] Supra note 1, quoting Prof. Gandy from the University of Pennsylvania.
[9] Robin Bloor, "CRM & Data Mining in US Politics", IT-Director.Com, at:
http://www.it-director.com/article.php?articleid=11697
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<div class=3DSection1>
<p class=3DMsoNormal style=3D'text-align:justify'><b><font size=3D2 =
face=3D"Courier New"><span
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier =
New";font-weight:bold'>Political
campaigns in the 21<sup>st</sup> Century - a “marketplace of
voters”?<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal style=3D'text-align:justify'><font size=3D2 =
face=3D"Courier New"><span
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier =
New"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal style=3D'text-align:justify'><font size=3D2 =
face=3D"Courier New"><span
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'>“If you own a =
Ford
Explorer and you garden and like the outdoors and you're over 50, there =
might
be a high likelihood that you care about tort reform” [1]. =
<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal style=3D'text-align:justify'><font size=3D2 =
face=3D"Courier New"><span
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier =
New"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal style=3D'text-align:justify'><font size=3D2 =
face=3D"Courier New"><span
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier =
New"'> One
of the most dramatic changes created by the internet driven-data =
mining-surveillance
society which we explored in the course is in the political field. No =
doubt the
growing influence of the internet in politics may promote important =
democratic
values. As a recent study shows, the internet encourages greater =
participation
by young voters and small donors, makes it easier for small donors to =
connect
with others and be politically active and encourages first time donors =
to
contribute to electoral campaigns [2]. Generally, it seems that the =
internet plays
a significant role in encouraging wider-range grassroots political
participation and lowering entry barriers for new and low-funded =
candidates. Thus,
it may decrease the corrupting influence of big-money in politics and =
“level
the playing field”.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal style=3D'text-align:justify'><font size=3D2 =
face=3D"Courier New"><span
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier =
New"'> However,
there is also a deeply worrying side to the technological driven changes =
in the
political arena. Private political campaign consultants and the major =
political
parties are creating vast databases, and using data mining and =
e-marketing to
get their targeted political messages to voters. A political consulting =
firm
called “Aristotle International”, created a database with =
detailed
profiles of 150 million registered voters. The database is based upon =
public databases
such as registered voter records (which in many states contain private
information) and FEC contributor lists. These lists are enhanced with =
private
data gathered by commercial information brokers. Aristotle sold access =
to its
database to most of the current <st1:place =
w:st=3D"on"><st1:country-region =
w:st=3D"on">US</st1:country-region></st1:place>
senators and a significant portion of other national and state =
candidates [3]. Similarly,
the two major political parties created their own sophisticated =
databases and
data-mining apparatuses. The RNC’s “Voter Vault” and =
the DNC’s
“DataMart” contain detailed information on each of the 168 =
million
registered voters in the country [4]. The typical - voter-registration =
records,
census reports and consumer data-mining information – is enhanced =
with
information gathered by the party through telephone or door-to-door =
canvassing
over the years and with mailing lists gathered by ideologically related =
nonprofit
groups [5]. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style=3D'margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:justify'><font =
size=3D2
color=3Dblack face=3D"Courier New"><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier =
New"'> These
new resources dramatically transform the ability of campaigns to address
individualized messages to voters. The messages can be delivered not =
only in the
form of a targeted e-mail or ads on web sites, but may specifically
“follow” the voter in his surfing. For instance, "if =
somebody
shows interest by going to the politics page, then you follow them =
around the
site, and only serve ads if they fit certain criteria” [6]. =
Similarly, if
the candidate wishes to press on a subject, he can buy Google sponsored =
links
regarding the specific issue or population he is targeting, from =
“stem
cell research” to “employment <st1:place =
w:st=3D"on"><st1:State
w:st=3D"on">Ohio</st1:State></st1:place>” =
[7].<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style=3D'margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:justify'><font =
size=3D2
color=3Dblack face=3D"Courier New"><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier =
New"'> The
most obvious danger in this brave new world is in the loss of our =
political privacy.
Especially as political parties and consultants share our private =
information
with commercial parties which can widely disseminate it for various =
purposes. Such
a breach of our privacy may have a chilling effect upon voter’s =
willingness
to support unpopular political causes, or to support causes that are =
unpopular
in the voter’s immediate circle. Voters will become increasingly
reluctant to register to vote (and disclose private information), may =
avoid political
contributions and generally refrain from political activity which may
“out” them. Thus, a pro-choice employee may be reluctant to =
support
this cause, if his pro-life employer could relatively easily gather =
personal political
data and screen his employees for “unapproved” political =
views. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style=3D'margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:justify'><font =
size=3D2
color=3Dblack face=3D"Courier New"><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier =
New"'> Furthermore,
these new developments may totally alter the nature of the political =
process
itself. First of all, the result of these changes may well be an =
exclusion of
the under-privileged segments of society from the political process. If
according to the statistical model they are not likely to vote – =
why
address them at all? [8] As the action moves to the on-line arena, =
potential
voters who have no access to the internet, or are just not so interested =
in the
process, will not get any information on the views of the candidates and =
will
effectively be left out of the game. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style=3D'margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:justify'><font =
size=3D2
color=3Dblack face=3D"Courier New"><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier =
New"'> Even
more importantly, it seems that these new developments are twisting the =
whole
concept of democratic elections. In our basic, republican view of =
politics,
elections are based upon the notion of a “marketplace of =
ideas” in
which each candidate presents her “merchandise” - her =
character and
her version of the public good – and the voters choose according =
to their
preferences. In the new world we are approaching there is no longer a
“public good” presented by a candidate or a general message =
the
candidate wishes to present to the voters. There will not even be a very
distorted and simplified sound-bite version of the public good of the =
kind we
got used to in the last decades. Instead, each voter will be fed with a
personalized message that answers her specific concerns. The candidate =
will not
have to present a coherent portrait of her views and there would be no
meaningful public debate. On the contrary, the candidate could offer =
different
and even conflicting views on the issues, according to the specific =
voter it is
approaching. Furthermore, since candidates may use the detailed voter =
information
in the process of gerrymandering (and in fact already do)[9], they even =
have an
ability to shape their electorate. The result is a total reversal of the =
concept
of democratic elections as we know it. The candidate chooses how to =
target us, which
version of herself to present to us, and even whether she wants us in =
her electoral
district. In effect, instead of the voters choosing the candidate, the
candidate will be choosing us. It may still be a =
“marketplace” but
we will be the commodity.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style=3D'margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:justify'><font =
size=3D2
color=3Dblack face=3D"Courier New"><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier =
New"'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal style=3D'text-align:justify'><font size=3D2 =
face=3D"Courier New"><span
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'>[1] Jon Gertner, =
“The
Very, Very Personal Is the Political”, <st1:State =
w:st=3D"on"><st1:place
w:st=3D"on">New York</st1:place></st1:State> Times, <font =
color=3Dblack><span
style=3D'color:black'>February 15, 2004, at: =
<o:p></o:p></span></font></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal style=3D'text-align:justify'><font size=3D2 =
color=3Dblack
face=3D"Courier New"><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New";
color:black'><a =
href=3D"http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/15/magazine/15VOTERS.html">http://=
www.nytimes.com/2004/02/15/magazine/15VOTERS.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></=
font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal style=3D'text-align:justify'><font size=3D2 =
face=3D"Courier New"><span
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'>[2] Institute for =
Politics
Democracy & The Internet, “Small Donors and Online Giving: A =
study of
Donors To The 2004 Presidential Campaign”, =
at:<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal style=3D'text-align:justify'><font size=3D2 =
face=3D"Courier New"><span
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'><a
href=3D"http://www.ipdi.org/UploadedFiles/Small%20Donors%20Report.pdf">ht=
tp://www.ipdi.org/UploadedFiles/Small%20Donors%20Report.pdf</a><o:p></o:p=
></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal style=3D'text-align:justify'><font size=3D2 =
face=3D"Courier New"><span
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'>[3] <font =
color=3Dblack><span
style=3D'color:black'>Christopher D. Hunter, “Political Privacy =
and Online
Politics: How E-Campaigning Threatens Voter Privacy”, 7(2) First =
Monday
(2002), <o:p></o:p></span></font></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal style=3D'text-align:justify'><font size=3D2 =
color=3Dblack
face=3D"Courier New"><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New";
color:black'>at: <a
href=3D"http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue7_2/hunter/index.html">http://=
firstmonday.org/issues/issue7_2/hunter/index.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></=
font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 face=3D"Courier New"><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Courier New"'>[4] Daniel Tynan, “GOP Voter Vault =
Shipped
Overseas”, PC World, September 24, 2004, at: <a
href=3D"http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,117930,00.asp">http://w=
ww.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,117930,00.asp</a><o:p></o:p></span></fo=
nt></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 face=3D"Courier New"><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Courier New"'>[5] Supra note =
1.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal style=3D'text-align:justify;background:white'><font =
size=3D2
face=3D"Courier New"><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'>[6]
Zachary A. Goldfarb,<i><span style=3D'font-style:italic'> =
</span></i>“Campaigns
Turning More to Online Videos”,<b><span =
style=3D'font-weight:bold'> </span></b>The
<st1:State w:st=3D"on"><st1:place =
w:st=3D"on">Washington</st1:place></st1:State>
Post, April 3, 2006, at: <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal style=3D'text-align:justify;background:white'><font =
size=3D2
face=3D"Courier New"><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'><a
href=3D"http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/02/washington/02campaign.html?ex=3D=
1145937600&en=3Ddb33e22096ba69e5&ei=3D5070">http://www.nytimes.co=
m/2006/04/02/washington/02campaign.html?ex=3D1145937600&en=3Ddb33e220=
96ba69e5&ei=3D5070</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<h2 =
style=3D'margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:justify'><b><font
size=3D2 color=3Dblack face=3D"Courier New"><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
"Courier New";font-weight:normal'>[7] <span class=3Dclsbiolink1><font
face=3D"Courier New"><span style=3D'font-family:"Courier =
New"'>Steven Johnson,
“</span></font></span>Why the campaigns should advertise in your =
search
results”, Slate, <span class=3Dclssmaller1><font color=3Dblack
face=3D"Courier New"><span style=3D'font-family:"Courier New"'>October =
13, 2004,
at: <a =
href=3D"http://www.slate.com/id/2108170/">http://www.slate.com/id/2108170=
/</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></span></span></font></b></h2>
<h2 style=3D'margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:justify'><span
class=3Dclssmaller1><b><font size=3D2 color=3Dblack face=3D"Courier =
New"><span
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier =
New";font-weight:normal'>[8] Supra
note 1, quoting Prof. Gandy from the <st1:place =
w:st=3D"on"><st1:PlaceType w:st=3D"on">University</st1:PlaceType>
of <st1:PlaceName w:st=3D"on">Pennsylvania</st1:PlaceName></st1:place>. =
<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></span></h2>
<h2 =
style=3D'margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:justify'><b><font
size=3D2 color=3Dblack face=3D"Courier New"><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
"Courier New";font-weight:normal'>[9] Robin Bloor, “CRM & Data =
Mining
in US Politics”, IT-Director.Com, =
at:<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></h2>
<h2 =
style=3D'margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:justify'><b><font
size=3D2 color=3Dblack face=3D"Courier New"><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
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