Opportunities and risks of using big data and analytics in political management

The article examines the essential characteristics of Big Data, which open up opportunities for building predictive models of mass behavior, which makes them a sought-after tool for researching society and political processes. Currently, Big Data is not just an analytical tool, but also a resource of political influence that requires detailed study. The purpose of the study is to identify the possibilities of using big data in the political space, as well as the risks that may accompany its introduction into political processes. The article uses a set of theoretical and empirical research methods. To analyze the specifics of big data, the "5V" model was used, which allows us to comprehensively consider this technology using a systematic approach. To study the problem, an author's questionnaire was developed for an online sociological survey, which was attended by 172 respondents, students of Moscow universities. More than half of the respondents positively assess the potential of Big Data for analyzing voter preferences and optimizing public administration. At the same time, a significant proportion of neutral responses emphasize the heterogeneity of perception and the need to improve digital literacy. Among the risks, the respondents identified as the most serious: violation of the right to privacy, increased political polarization and manipulation of public opinion. Personal and systemic threats are assessed as equally dangerous. It is noteworthy that manipulation is perceived as a more obvious danger than indirect restriction of freedom of choice through personalization of content, which may indicate gaps in understanding the algorithmic mechanisms of influence. The authors identify the key problems of using Big Data in political research: inconsistency of online user behavior with real offline actions (R. Lapierre's paradox), distortions and errors at the stages of data collection and processing, as well as limitations of sources and methods of analysis. Despite the huge amount of information in big data sets, they often lack the necessary control and randomness, which makes it difficult to make correct statistical conclusions. The theoretical significance of the article consists in summarizing the works on the use of Big Data in the political sphere, in identifying the main areas of application of this technology in the political space of our country. The practical significance of the article lies in the study of the opinion of the young electorate about the possibilities and risks of using Big Data in the field of political management, as well as survey-based recommendations to government agencies in the field of personal data protection of users of public services. The article concludes that Big Data has huge opportunities to apply this technology in politics, and public awareness, in turn, generates a request for regulation of personal data protection and promotes the development of critical perception of political content, reducing vulnerability to manipulation. At the same time, the identified gaps in understanding the mechanisms of algorithmic personalization highlight the need to develop digital literacy and transparency in the use of big data for political purposes.