When data crimes are real crimes: voter surveillance and the Cambridge Analytica conflict

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dc.contributor.authorGordon, Jesse
dc.contributor.supervisorBennett, Colin J.
dc.date.accessioned2019-08-28T19:49:38Z
dc.date.available2019-08-28T19:49:38Z
dc.date.copyright2019en_US
dc.date.issued2019-08-28
dc.degree.departmentDepartment of Political Science
dc.degree.levelMaster of Arts M.A.en_US
dc.description.abstractThis thesis asks what conditions elevated the Cambridge Analytica (CA) conflict into a sustained and global political issue? Was this a privacy conflict and if so, how was it framed as such? This work demonstrates that the public outcry to CA formed out of three underlying structural conditions: The rise of the alt-right as an ideology, surveillance capitalism, and a growing and unregulated voter analytics industry. A network of actors seized the momentum of this conflict to drive the message that voter surveillance is a threat to democratic elections. These actors humanized the CA conflict and created a catalyst for a large scale public outrage to these previously ignored structures. Their focus on democratic threat also allowed this conflict to transcend the typical contours of a privacy conflict and demonstrate that the consequences of CA are societal, rather than personal. Despite the democratic threat of voter surveillance, Canada and the United States have yet to address the wider implications of voter surveillance adequately. Thus, how these systems are used will be a question of central importance in upcoming elections.en_US
dc.description.scholarlevelGraduateen_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1828/11075
dc.languageEnglisheng
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.rightsAvailable to the World Wide Weben_US
dc.subjectCambridge Analyticaen_US
dc.subjectVoter Surveillanceen_US
dc.subjectBig dataen_US
dc.subjectPrivacyen_US
dc.subjectSurveillanceen_US
dc.subjectalt-righten_US
dc.subjectPolitical marketingen_US
dc.subjectElectionsen_US
dc.subjectCampaignen_US
dc.subject2016 electionen_US
dc.subjectDonald Trumpen_US
dc.subjectdemocracyen_US
dc.subjectSCLen_US
dc.subjectPrivacy Advocatesen_US
dc.subjectdemocratic threaten_US
dc.subjectpoliticsen_US
dc.subjectFacebooken_US
dc.subjectsocial mediaen_US
dc.subjectpsychographicsen_US
dc.subjectdemocratic erosionen_US
dc.subjectGraph API v1.0en_US
dc.subjectPersonal Informationen_US
dc.subjectdata crimesen_US
dc.subjectdata regulatorsen_US
dc.subjectpolitical partyen_US
dc.subjectRepublicanen_US
dc.subjectDemocratic Partyen_US
dc.subjectVoter analyticsen_US
dc.subjectmydigitallifeen_US
dc.subjectappen_US
dc.subjectframesen_US
dc.subjectdata brokeren_US
dc.subjectMicro-targetingen_US
dc.titleWhen data crimes are real crimes: voter surveillance and the Cambridge Analytica conflicten_US
dc.typeThesisen_US

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