Cybercrime, Moral Panic, and the Presidency: Disentangling Policy Rhetoric in Administration Policy Statements on Cybercrime

• In Event: The Politics of Crime Prevention

Abstract

American Presidents have been involved with criminal justice policy for a long time. Since the Presidency of Herbert Hoover, and more consistently since the Johnson/Goldwater debates, presidents have attempted to influence Americans’ opinions on the issue of crime through both the Bully Pulpit, as well as through more subtle forms of communication. Historically, this crime-communication by presidents has been both substantive and symbolic, and has even been implicated in the development of moral panics. New forms of crime, however, and specifically cybercrime, have not been investigated in light of presidential politics. This paper seeks to fill this gap through examination of cybercrime statements by presidents since Bill Clinton first used the term in 1991.

Authors

• Joshua Hill, Tiffin University

• Nancy E. Marion, University of Akron

• Will Oliver, Sam Houston State University