As a regulatory powerhouse within the EU, the European Commission frequently takes on major firms such as Amazon, Google, and Meta, making competition cases subject to politicization. In response, the Commission has sought to navigate these pressures while maintaining its technocratic reputation. However, its communication style remains predominantly technical as it relies on complex language and bureaucratic jargon, which may in turn shape public engagement with regulatory decisions. While much of the Commission’s public communication follows a fact-based and neutral approach, recent scholarship has shown that bureaucratic communications incorporating emotional appeals can shape public perceptions of regulators and the regulatory measures they propose. Our study investigates whether integrating emotional appeals into technocratic communication affects EU citizens’ trust in the European Commission and their support for Big Tech regulation.
To test this, our study will collect data from 3,000 participants, including a nationally representative sample from France, Germany, and Ireland (N = 1,000 per country).The experimental manipulation consists of a hypothetical press release from the European Commission announcing an investigation into a fictional Big Tech company, SearchSphere, for potential antitrust violations. The key manipulation varies the comments attributed to the DG Competition Commissioner, randomly assigning statements that incorporate neutral, positive, or negative emotional appeals. Following the manipulation, we will measure trust in the European Commission as our outcome variable, assessed through perceived competence, integrity, and benevolence, as well as support for the Commission’s proposed regulatory measures against a fictional Big Tech company, SearchSphere. By integrating insights from bureaucratic politics, communication, and affective governance, this study sheds light on how regulatory institutions can strategically frame their messaging to foster public trust and engagement in the face of increasing politicization.
