Digital Threats to Democracy

Once believed to hold the key to the expansion of global democracy, liberalism and a healthy civil society, the internet and digital technologies are now more often framed as threats to advanced and emerging democracies. Social media and other digital technology platforms appear to be contributing factors in global democratic decline.

The Digital Threats to Democracy Project aims to identify and examine intersecting digital threats to democracy, specifically across four key issues: online disinformation, online hate and extremism, tech-enabled foreign interference and regulation of the digital sphere.

As democracies grow more dependent on digital technology, this project seeks to better understand how vulnerabilities in current digital infrastructures have the potential to undermine democratic governance — whether through their design or business models or the way digital technologies are used by average citizens and adverse actors alike.

The Digital Threats to Democracy Project is supported by the New South Wales Department of Premier and Cabinet. The information, advice and/or views expressed in this project are those of the project author/s and participant/s and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Lowy Institute or the NSW government.