How digital authoritarianism harms democracy

This paper conceptualizes digital authoritarianism as a set of digital practices to harm democracy. For example, online surveillance and the systematic collection of personal data in the Internet by the state infringe on the autonomy and dignity of individuals. Online censorship and Internet shut downs violate freedom of expression. Disinformation in social media sabotage accountability. Based on the practice-based definition of authoritarianism by Glasius and by using data from the Digital Society Project, the paper analyzes the relationship between digital authoritarianism and autocratization occurring in democracies and autocracies. First findings show that while disinformation on social media is linked with the onset of an episode of democratic regression (i.e., autocratization in democracies), online surveillance and censorship correlate only with already ongoing autocratization in democracies and autocracies. By shedding light on how single practices of digital authoritarianism relate to different stages of democratic decline, the paper contributes to the debate about the political outcomes of the Internet.