Digital transparency and political communication

Abstract

The academic debate on transparency has experienced a boom in recent decades. A review of the scientific literature allows us to identify two key moments in the discussion on digital transparency: the declaration of Barack Obama’s Memorandum on transparency and open government in 2009 and the Cambridge Analytica scandal in 2018. The first was linked to a groundswell of enthusiasm for the concept of government transparency, with the promise that it would boost accountability, eliminate corruption, and promote political efficiency in a crisis of institutional legitimacy. The second altered the digital transparency agenda and catalysed a discussion about the need for technology and social media companies (Facebook, Twitter, or Google) to make transparency commitments because of their role in generating a public conversation and the democratic implications. This paper reviews the idea of digital transparency in the scientific literature framed in the field of political communication and tries to reflect the need for more research on its political, social, and cultural implications.