Regulating the Data Driven Campaign

Concern surrounding the growth of online campaigning has become an increasing element of elections around the world. In the UK alone we have seen any number of expert committees and reports released unpicking the extent to which these trends represent a threat to our democracy as we know it. Little wonder, then, that data driven campaign has become a focus of both legislators and regulators. This is an exploratory paper which seeks to better outline the experience of regulators in adapting to the challenges digital technology presents. Utilising interviews with regulators in the UK, those in technology companies with experience of working with regulators and those calling for (varying forms of) legislative response, we map the different types of response posited, factors that help to explain these differences and the practical challenges that regulators face in calling for reform in this area.