The Bright Side of Data-Driven Campaigning? How Targeting can be Beneficial for Society

To date, coverage of data-driven campaigning has tended to focus on its negative consequences for democracy and has sparked numerous calls for platforms and policymakers to limit or ban this activity. Less attention has, however, been paid to the potential for (online) political microtargeting to enhance rather than undermine democracy. In our paper, we focus on the positive outcomes that can be advanced through political microtargeting. We argue, for instance, that targeting can be used to reach and inform citizens who are less engaged in politics or more likely to tune out from traditional media. Moreover, it provides a democratic linkage between politicians and the electorate. In the second half of the paper, we take a closer look at the conditions under which more positive endeavors of political targeting can be regarded as desirable from a citizen perspective. To put these claims into perspective, we will present data on public attitudes towards the use of different data sources for targeting to investigate the boundary conditions of targeting. Results indicate that all data should not be viewed as equal and that certain types of data are appropriate for advancing positive goals. The paper will offer more nuanced insights into the democratic role of targeting by moving the debate of targeting in a different light by focusing on its potential.