ABSTRACT

Debates in the public policy sphere about the potential of digital media to enable new modes of citizen-to-government engagement are paralleled in the discussions in communication and media studies about the democratising potential of social media. There has been considerable discussion over a number of years about how digital media can be used to facilitate more effective interaction between citizens and government in democratic societies. The Lapor! platform provides a genuine outlet for citizens to raise tangible concerns governments, supported by institutional guarantees of receiving a response within an appropriate time frame. Terms such as e-participation, e-democracy, e-government, and Citizen 2.0 have been variously used, but the common theme behind these terms has been the understanding that the Internet and digital media can connect governments and citizens in new ways. The anonymity of the website for both users and the government officials who address citizen concerns enables safe interaction with government in a fledgling democracy with a history of official corruption and intolerance of dissent.