As information integrity is increasingly used in the context of the information environment, it needs a clear definition that provides guidance on how the concept can be translated into policy. 

Three criteria can help democratic governments assess whether an influence operation is acceptable or unacceptable.

Transparency reporting and data sharing are hot topics. Both are seen as holy grails to unlock the mysteries of the information environment. And both are often conflated with each other. This lack of clarity in definitions makes it challenging to draft much-need regulation to help drive either concept forward in practice.

It’s time for policymakers and scholars to lay out a real blueprint for what transparency can and should encompass. Otherwise, the concept risks becoming a meaningless buzzword, a putative panacea to all our online problems. 

This means the time is growing short to craft a vision of an information environment that enables democracy and to prepare proposals that will counter the authoritarian vision of central control.