15 Dec Need to Regulate Social media (GS-2,3, The Hindu)
Need to Regulate Social media- Today Current Affairs
The need for regulation of social media platforms has accelerated after the episode of facebook whistleblowers revelations.This is in the context that handful of companies yields more money and power than that of the several governments, their extraordinary influence on economy, society and policies and hence there is an urgent need to put certain checks and balances on their unbridled power.
Rise of Social media in recent decade: The Hindu Analysis
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The phenomenal rise of social media platforms like facebook, twitter,whatsapp etc.has become a double edged sword in terms of functioning of democracies.
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It has democratised access to information, while on the other hand it has concentrated power over that information with a handful of private companies, their billionaire owners, and certain ideologically committed activist groups.
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It has become easy for billions of netizens around the world to bypass traditional curators of information such as journalists and editors in order to get the content of their choice.
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In addition to being the consumer,netizens have also become creators and disseminators of content.
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Misinformation on social media can alter public opinion for the worse and create a sense of panic and restlessness among the public,which is a threat to democracy.
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It is to be noted that social media provides a liberal platform which allows common citizens to put forward their views regarding policies and acts and let them directly communicate with their leaders and vice versa.
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Thus the public opinion gets amplified on social media,which consequently makes democracy more transparent and stronger.
Need for regulation
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Whatsapp has about 400 million active indian users 300 million Fb users, 250 million youtube users,which is more than the US.
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With such a large market share, these significant data fiduciaries have an obligation to abide by the law of land, in the interest of the data subjects in India at large.
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Data fiduciaries are using their significant market power to defy rules of the land in which they operate.
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India being a democratic country always has legal recourse and the judiciary to oversee undue exercise of power by the state.
Challenges before the government: The Hindu Analysis
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A stringent policy of policing social media could violate the individuals right to privacy.
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It will be not easy to compel fb Inc, the owner of whatsapp to give up on the app’s unique selling proposition to the users of complete end to end confidentially.
Way forward
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The benefits of technology can not be ignored, especially social media with wide outreach. In the midst of a pandemic there was whatsapp fb and twitter for SOS calls.
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In the pandemic era followed by prolonged periods of lockdown, social media has given respite to people from mental distress.
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There can be no dispute that social media is necessary in order to connect with peers.
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The government should regulate these social media platforms, but not to the extent that it becomes difficult for them to do business in india.
Conclusion
India is not a surveillance state, there must not be any unconstitutional check on the right to privacy and freedom of speech and expression. Further, there is a need for social media awareness to enable citizens to distinguish between right content and wrong control and also to know when democratic processes are being manipulated.There must be a balance as the constitution itself has provided several limitations on one’s right to speech and expression. Social media platforms need to provide safeguards in the event when democratic processors are being intentionally disrupted or harmful falsehoods are spreading and enable people to find out what is true.
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