Do we really want open, transparent politics?

• In years past, campaigns might have asked supporters to call their friends or knock on doors in their neighborhoods to get out the vote. This year, campaigns are asking supporters to reach out to specific friends, either people who the campaign knows are living in swing states or who appear in a campaign database as a likely voter, after looking through each supporter's Facebook friends list. It's the latest example of experiments powered by the increasing utility of voter data, which wasn't always available in such a comprehensive form and may be getting more accurate as states improve their record-keeping. And it also shows how campaigns are using strategies informed by research that indicates peer pressure, including on Facebook, gets out the vote. In theory, if not in practice, your political history has always been public. Now what used to be private for all intents and purposes is becoming as known to everyone as your latest Facebook post. Is this a new day for democracy, or is it just creepy?

Around the web

• A new application allowing secure communication for journalists will be tested out on Election Day in New York City.

• The Obama campaign was asking its supporters to share a link outlining the President's plans, while the Romney campaign was promoting videos including one regarding Obama's "apology tour."

• Mitt Romney's op-ed suggesting that America let the auto industry go bankrupt was the most-viewed New York Times story online yesterday.

• Pro Publica reported on how companies like CampaignGrid, Experian and Datalogix collect online user data to enable political targeting.

• A web-exclusive documentary from Frontline with an interactive component examines how voters are being targeted online.

• IT World's Dan Tynan explores the ways that voters can limit the information campaigns use and explores the presidential campaigns' privacy policies.

• In a New York Times article about how incumbents are reconsidering limits on campaign finance, Senator John Cornyn (R-Tex.) suggested that electronic filing for federal candidates would be a useful requirement. Members of the House of Representatives file electronically while Senate candidates do not.

• After Republican Senate candidate Richard Mourdock described pregnancy from rape as "something that God intended to happen," pro-Obama group American Bridge created a video linking him to Romney, and Democrats on Facebook began linking him to Paul Ryan.

• The New York Times took a closer look at a cyber-attack on a Saudi oil company that American officials believe originated from Iran.

• State Department e-mails indicate that White House and State Department officials were aware within hours that an Islamic militant group had taken responsibility for the attack in Benghazi. According to Reuters, one message stated, "Embassy Tripoli reports the group claimed responsibility on Facebook and Twitter and has called for an attack on Embassy Tripoli."

• The Washington Post has a large feature on how the Obama administration has created a database of targeted individuals to be killed by drones called a "disposition matrix."

• The Secret Service tweeted yesterday: "To report a tweet that concerns you, call the nearest field office in your state."

• House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) sees net neutrality regulations as an example of President Obama's disregard for the legislative process.

• The family of Trayvon Martin has launched an online platform for donations and outreach to call for a change in "stand your ground" laws.

• Buzzfeed examined data on which news websites get traction on Facebook.

• ICYMI: The New York Times has reinforced its social media guidelines for reporters after a freelancer's online comments were deemed inappropriate.

• Facebook spent almost one million dollars on lobbying from July to September.

• All Facebook looked at the success of Rep. Jim Matheson's (D-Utah) campaign on Facebook.

• A state House race in Alaska is now a focus of controversy after one candidate's possibly innuendo-laden tweet.

• An Ad Age contributor suggests that the main result of Do Not Track is to consolidate the dominance of Microsoft, Yahoo, Facebook, Google, Amazon and eBay.

• The Bill and Melinda Gates' Foundation's Impatient Optimists blog profiled Andy Carvin and how he views the role of social media in journalism and as a way to effect change.

International

• Nieman Lab explored the greater global context of the New York Times' plan to launch a Portuguese-language site aimed at Brazil.

• Brazilian newspapers have pulled out of Google News because they say the search engine has not paid for content and is taking away traffic from their websites.

• The European Parliament has endorsed stricter European export control of digital arms.

• While a counter-terrorism expert said that being able to access criminal suspects' communications is key to succesful prosecutions, a journalist told a parliamentary commitee reviewing plans for a British online surveillance bill that the plan could lead to a police state.

• British authorities have been using drones in the high-profile search of a missing five-year-old.

• A Greek right-wing deputy has been stripped of his immunity by parliament after videos posted online showed him helping to smash stalls of vendors that he and others claimed were operating without permits, the AP reported.

• Iranian media officials have expressed anger that Europe’s largest satellite providers have ceased transmission of 19 Iranian state-operated satellite television and radio channels that broadcast to Europe and parts of the Middle East to comply with tougher EU sanctions against Iran.

• The British ambassador to Chile apologized for posting an anti-Argentine tweet with a message used by Chileans to mock Argentina's defeat in the Falklands war ahead of a football game between Argentina and Chile.

• A Turkish musician is facing charges for insulting Islam in Twitter posts.

• The mother of a Belarusian man who was executed has begun an online campaign against the death penalty in the country, with the support of Dmitry Savelov, the eastern Europe and Central Asia coordinator for Change.org.

• A Cairo court has postponed proceedings in the case of a 27-year old charged with posting the controversial anti-Islam video "Innocence of Muslims" on Facebook.