The Internet and Politics
Political Science I
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What are the key features of the
Internet?
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Key Features
• Widespread Audience
• 75.6% of American households have a computer
(US Census Bureau, 2011)
• 71.7% of American households use the Internet at
home (US Census Bureau, 2011)
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Key Features (continued)
• Interactivity
• Traditional media are unidirectional, unlike the
Internet, which supports interactive
communication
• The interactivity allows for quick and easy
assimilation and organization of groups of people
with similar interests
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Key Features (continued)
• Global Scope
• The Internet is viewed and utilized worldwide
• Its global nature ensures a wide range of diverse
information and opinions
• Its lack of ownership presents legal challenges
regarding which national law it should follow
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What are the ways that the
Internet is useful for politics?
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Political Websites
• There are thousands of political websites on the
Internet
• Governmental (e.g. government agencies, Congress,
political parties, universities, interest groups)
• Non-governmental (e.g. major newspapers,
newsmagazines, television and radio networks)
• Partisan – offer information only from their political
parties’ perspectives
• Non-partisan – offer information from more than one
perspective
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Political Websites (continued)
• It is the user’s responsibility to evaluate
critically the website in order to determine its
reliability, accuracy, and currency
• Reputable websites state the
• Name of the owner and manager
• Date of the most recent revision
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Tracking Legislation
• Congress.gov (http://beta.congress.gov/)
• Allows users to search for House and Senate bills
• Lists contact information for members of Congress
• The Library of Congress (http://www.gpo.gov/)
• Provides a summary of the current congressional
session’s daily activities
• Is a database for reports filed by congressional
committees
• Is co-hosted by the Government Printing Office
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Electronic Mailing Lists
• Are automated email notifications that provide
subscribers with current information about the
topic of interest, such as civil liberties or gun
control
• May be found by
• Conducting an Internet search of the following key
terms
• Political listservs
• Political discussion groups
• Visiting the websites of the national offices of the
major political parties
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E-Government
• Is provided by all levels of government
• Includes government-operated websites that
provide information and services such as
• Pay parking tickets
• Get forms for marriage licenses
• Register to vote
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E-Government (continued)
• Two examples are
• Office of E-Government and Information Technology
(http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/e-gov)
• Was established by the 2002 E-Government Act
• Helps federal agencies coordinate and improve online service
for the public
• The federal government’s official website
(www.usa.gov)
• Provides access to a wide variety of governmental
information
• Provides links to information about all 50 states
• Provides convenient ways to contact local, state, and federal
representatives
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What is the Internet’s impact on
the political participation of US
citizens?
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The Internet’s Impact
• Communicating with officials
• Email is the most widely used Internet tool to
communicate with officials
• Congress receives more than one million emails a
day (Remy, 2010)
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The Internet’s Impact (continued)
• Action Alerts and Petitions
• Action alert – a message from an interest group to
its members that calls for a specific and immediate
response (e.g. contact your congressman)
• Electronic petition – a mass message that asks for
electronic signatures on a request to an official
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The Internet’s Impact (continued)
• Grassroots Websites
• Are created by individuals supporting their
political candidates or beliefs
• Can cause problems for political parties by
creating
• Misinformation
• Unwanted associations with extremists
• Confusion about whether the website is official
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The Internet’s Impact (continued)
• Volunteering Opportunities
• Are listed on political websites
• Are available face-to-face or online
• Political Blogs
• Are online personal journals that people and groups
can use to participate politically
• Are widely used
• May be owned and read by anyone
• Remain largely a tool of the elites with journalistic
credentials
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The Internet’s Impact (continued)
• Electronic Voting
• The 2002 Help America Vote Act
• Required states to replace old voting methods (e.g.
punch cards)
• Inspired some states and the Department of Defense to
experiment with e-voting
• Supporters focus on the ease and efficiency
• Opponents focus on the potential for sabotage,
vote stealing, and a lack of hard evidence
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What are the legal challenges of
the Internet?
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Offensive Content
• The lack of government regulation allows anyone to
post their ideas and opinions, creative or obscene
• Some important legislation includes
• Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union (1997) – the
Supreme Court ruled that the First Amendment guarantees
freedom of expression on the Internet
• Children’s Internet Protection Act (2000) – requires public
libraries that receive federal funds to install antipornography filters
• United States v. American Library Association (2003) – the
Supreme Court ruled that the law’s filter requirement does
not violate library users’ First Amendment rights
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Taxing E-Commerce
• E-commerce has increased with the frequency
of Internet use
• States want to tax online sales but cannot
because of cumbersome state tax laws
• A group of states supports a plan to use a
single tax rate for all online sales, but
technology companies, online retailers, and
Congress are resistant
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Resources
• McClenaghan, W. A. (2009). Magruder's American
Government, Pearson.
• Remy, Ph.D., R. C. (2010), United States Government:
Democracy in Action, Glencoe McGraw-Hill.
• Wilson, J. Q., Dilulio Jr., J. J., and Bose, M. (2011).
American Government Institutions and Policies, Wadsworth
Cengage Learning.
• US Census Bureau
http://www.census.gov/prod/2013pubs/p20-569.pdf
• Office of E-Government and Information Technology
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/e-gov
• http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/daily_videos/turkishteen-talks-about-circumventing-his-countrys-twitter-block/
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