Control Antiocial Social Media

The Economic Times 23rd November 2020 Save

Context: The issues with the regulation of social media platforms necessitates a robust and enforceable regulatory framework.

‘Any society, that gives up a little liberty to gain a little security deserves neither, and will end up losing both.’ – Benjamin Franklin; (could apply to social media channels)

Steps taken to protect against hackers and malicious content:

By Social media platforms: While WhatsApp’s limits the number of forwards, Facebook’s implemented its ‘Dangerous Individuals and Organisations’ policy to protect users.
By the Government: Brought ‘films and audio-visual programmes made available by online content providers’ and ‘news and current affairs content on online platforms’ under the information and broadcasting ministry.

Hazards of Powerful Social Media Platforms:

Limited public awareness and lack of resources: due to insufficient legal framework.
Supervision by association: Only if Facebook edits content it is considered a digital content developer that can be held culpable.
No regulatory standards: Where traditional media is forced to operate with liability and responsibility, social media is not held to the same standards.
Media Singularity: When one channel or a single confluence of channels controls content integrity, and information dissemination - a laissez-faire approach may not work.
Promotes authoritarianism:
- The Free Facebook programme in the Philippines amplified President Rodrigo Duterte’s message through its News Feed algorithm, which resulted in the creation of an authoritarian regime.
- Can suppress the voice:g. Facebook blocked a plug-in that enabled users to share which political ads viewers saw on the site.
Undermines investigative journalism: bypass content accuracy and redirect attention to clickbait journalism, designed by third parties, with predictable outcomes.
A security threat: in the form of proliferation of hate speech, since a single platform can become the only vehicle for news dissemination.

Conclusion: Given India’s low position on the Global Press Freedom Index (142^nd out of 180), there is a trade-off between preserving order and empowering citizenry.