Dommett, K. orcid.org/0000-0003-0624-6610 and Zhu, J. orcid.org/0000-0002-2869-824X (2023) What is an online political advert? An interrogation of conceptual challenges in the formation of digital policy response. Policy & Internet, 15 (4). pp. 713-730. ISSN 1944-2866
Abstract
Despite British and European policymakers' quest to regulate online political advertising, it is not clear what exactly constitutes an online political advert. As with many areas of digital governance, it is therefore necessary to impose definitional criteria, yet the process of doing so is by no means straightforward. Using qualitative interviews, we set out to clarify alternative routes for definition by distilling policymakers' understanding of what it means for a piece of content to be an “advert,” “online,” and “political.” Presenting a series of decision trees that trace policymakers' ideas, we reveal different traits that could be used to create a definition. In addition, we use our interviews to offer insight into the policymaking approach needed when defining complex and contested digital phenomena. Given the array of possible definitional approaches, we argue that policymakers will find it valuable to adopt an argumentative and communicative approach if efforts to gain consensus are to succeed. This article accordingly provides a practical tool for future attempts to define online political advertising, and casts light on the strategies policymakers may use when seeking to define and regulate complex digital phenomena.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
---|---|
Authors/Creators: |
|
Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2023 The Authors. Policy & Internet published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Policy Studies Organization. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Keywords: | communicative policymaking; definition; online; policymaking; political advertising; regulation |
Dates: |
|
Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) > Department of Politics and International Relations (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 22 Aug 2023 13:32 |
Last Modified: | 04 Oct 2024 15:21 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Wiley |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1002/poi3.350 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:202607 |