Seraphine F. Maerz
During the last decade, digital authoritarianism has become a key characteristic of modern autocracies. However, a range of democratically elected governments also apply practices of digital authoritarianism. This includes official disinformation in social media, the abuse of defamation and copyright laws, surveilling social media, and government access to personal data on the internet. Are these instances of digital authoritarianism in democratic contexts merely flaws of the system which are effectively handled by strong democratic institutions and an engaged public, or do they significantly harm democracy? This article conceptualizes three forms of digital authoritarianism – manipulative, surveilling, and controlling practices – which have the potential to undermine basic principles of democracy. Manipulating online contents with official disinformation and “fake news” laws sabotages accountability. Social media surveillance and accessing private data infringes on civil liberties. Controlling the online public sphere with internet censorship and shutdowns violates freedom of expression. Based on data from the Digital Society Project, the article analyses the effects of digital authoritarianism in democratic settings and, for the most part, finds confirmation for the assumptions about how manipulative, surveilling, and controlling practices harm democratic institutions.