Civil liberties or economic freedom? The political space of Internet policy in the European Parliament, 1999-2014

The Internet has become central to economic exchange and political communication, placing regulatory initiatives high on European policy agendas. What cleavages shape the political conflicts surrounding Internet policy? I argue that proposals to regulate the Internet frequently affect not only econo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of European public policy 2024-05, Vol.31 (5), p.1368-1395
Main Author: Heermann, Max
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Authoritarianism
Case studies
Civil liberties
cleavage
digital policy
European Parliament
Freedoms
Internet
Internet governance
Left wing politics
Legislatures
Liberalism
Political communication
Political parties
roll-call votes
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Summary:The Internet has become central to economic exchange and political communication, placing regulatory initiatives high on European policy agendas. What cleavages shape the political conflicts surrounding Internet policy? I argue that proposals to regulate the Internet frequently affect not only economic interests but also the civil liberties of citizens in the online environment. Political parties must therefore balance their stance on market regulation and their socio-cultural preferences on the 'liberal-authoritarian' dimension of political contestation. To explore party competition on Internet policy in the European Union, I analyse all Internet policy roll-call votes in the European Parliament from 1999 to 2014. Ideal point estimation shows that political competition in this policy field is best explained by the 'liberal-authoritarian' dimension. Reinforcing this finding, two case studies illustrate how civil liberty concerns motivate left-wing parties and the liberal party group to form voting coalitions despite diverging economic preferences.
ISSN:1350-1763
1466-4429
DOI:10.1080/13501763.2023.2175019