Digital Regulation and Democracy in Latin America

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Sandra Botero
Visiting Fellow
PhD Fellow
Former Kellogg Doctoral Student

The internet has dramatically reshaped politics and public discourse in recent decades. The configuration of a new digital sphere and the growth of social media platforms are redefining the contours of democracy worldwide. New networking and informational possibilities have changed mobilization, activism, campaigning and governing. At the same time, misinformation, disinformation, fake news, digital surveillance tools and regulation itself can represent real threats to pluralism, to the full exercise of civil, political, and human rights. This project explores some of these tensions by studying the politics of efforts to regulate the internet in Latin America. My overall aim is to better understand what explains differing levels and modes of regulation across countries, as well as to reflect on their implications for democracy in the region. I focus on regulation (legislative, legislative, and self-adopted by digital platforms) in two areas: transparency around electoral information, as well as free speech.