Making elections more transparent? Lessons from the implementation of digital imprints at the 2024 UK General Election

Abstract

Transparency has often been proposed as a solution to the use of digital technology in election campaigns, being seen to counter negative democratic effects. And yet, few studies have documented how transparency reforms are being enacted in practice. Drawing insight from research on the implementation of digital regulation, in this paper we consider how democratic actors comply with new transparency requirements. Adopting a case study approach, we examine the implementation of the UK’s new “digital imprints" regime. Auditing practice at the 2024 General Election, we find that although technical compliance is possible, there is considerable diversity in practice, with platform affordances and actors' choices affecting compliance. Providing recommendations for UK regulators, we suggest that digital regulation is unlikely to be effective without concerted efforts from regulators to shape implementation and compliance.