Public, Private and Profit

The Indian Express     5th September 2020     Save    

Context:  Facebook is rightly coming under scrutiny for the way it regulates speech. However, the problem of freedom, civility and censorship go deeper.

Specific Complaints against Facebook

    • Political partisanship, not being attentive enough to hate speech and fake news,
    • For E.g. Recently Wall Street Journal alleged Facebook’s support to a political party.
      • Opaque algorithms that direct users to particular kinds of content, 
      • Inadequate privacy controls, 
      • Inordinate and unaccountable power to shape public discourse.

      Challenges due to Digital Platforms 

      • Revolutionary Transformation: We are in the midst of a revolution akin to the printing revolution of the 14th and 15th centuries, what Benedict Anderson called print capitalism.
          • Both empowered masses of people enabled new forms of knowledge and transformed the Self.
          • But they also enabled new forms of hate to emerge and consolidate as political forces.
      • Political Partisanship: 
      • Private in form but the public in utility: For, E.g. Facebook has taken the role of a free speech regulator, traditionally carried on by the government.
      • Unchallenged Political partisanship of public officials: Even in official circles, where non-partisanship was appropriate, the norm has been eroded.
        • Blurring of the distinction between public and private makes identification of the function of an institution a difficult task.
          • Separation of public and private roles has become difficult in an age where public and private spaces are breached every time you tweet or post.
      • Issues with Censorship:
          • Always invites a charge of partisanship.
          • Courting of censorship to get political mileage.
      • Dilemma over deciding the nature of speech and action: Whether or not speech or incitement is a function of context
      • For, E.g. Freedom of Expression is good when it is safe and is awful when it leads to violence.
      • Factor mandating the need for censorship
          • Viral and unpredictable effects of a social media post.
          • Feature of social media to de-contextualise and re-contextualise speech.

      Conclusion: Resisting Facebook’s power will require a more radical withdrawal from a logic of profit that blurs the boundary between public and private, without which no freedom and civility is possible.