Why social media governance demands balancing free speech with accountability

There are several ways to approach this question, but a sensible and engaging starting point could be that social media is fundamentally about people and human relationships. Social media’s core operational foundation includes: 

1. Showcasing the diversity of people’s lives, cultures, and lifestyles.

2. Modelling and mediating communication and interaction.

3. Facilitating connections that transcend geographical and social boundaries.

Given these functions, and the central role they play in our lives, it’s not surprising that now people’s internet surfing is mostly via social media platforms. This is remarkable for its potential to shape a more informed and receptive global society. 

Yet, more recent studies also draw our attention to a flipside: social media’s profound power to shape our everyday lives, align our aspirations with market logic, and narrow our imaginative horizons as citizens.

The perils of social media

There is no dearth of literature that highlights the perils of social media: from its contribution to loneliness, heightened anxiety, depression, lowered self-esteem, to the spread of fake news, privacy violations, cyberbullying, online harassment and so forth. An expanding list of movies and documentaries engages with these perils. 

Privacy violations, online abuse 

Concerns around privacy violations on social media hardly require elaboration. As users share their personal information online, they increase their vulnerability/susceptibility within the digital ecosystem. Privacy breaches often involve data-mining, data-sharing with third parties, live location tracking, identity theft, and greater exposure to hacking and phishing, with much of it driven by targeted advertising practices. 

Moreover, there have also been genuine grievances around mass surveillance and user profiling. It is now widely known that social media accounts are scanned by governments and intelligence agencies across the world. 

Online abuse presents another area of serious concern that merits urgent attention. While it remains a concern for users in general, women and users from other marginalised identities are invariably at a greater risk of being harassed online. Cyberbullying has been rightly identified as a public health concern in our times. 

Cyberbullying

A report by cybersecurity firm McAfee Corp informs that as many as 85 per cent of children in India have been victims of cyberbullying. Given the lasting emotional harm caused by cyberbullying, coupled with the tender age of its victims, the world of social media becomes an exceptionally challenging turf for parents.

Films such as Logout (2025), Not Okay (2022), and War of Likes (2021), and web series such as Adolescence (2025), Clickbait (2021), and Black Mirror (2011), and documentaries like The Social Dilemma (2020), Childhood 2.0 (2020), and The Great Hack (2019) vividly illustrate how social media reshapes our subjectivities in profound ways.

Additionally, a recent study by Celia B. Fisher and others, Social media: A double-edged sword for LGBTQ+ youth, explores the double-edged nature of social media with respect to LGBTQ+ youth. It underlines how social media platforms are simultaneously safe and toxic for them. On the one hand, these platforms offer opportunities to connect with others who share similar identities or who support them. On the other hand, social media platforms also remain active sites of brazen transphobic and homophobic cyberbullying.

Fake news

In addition, there are concerns about the negative impact of social media on fake news, which is defined as fabricated information intended to mislead the audience. This is troubling not only because it spreads falsehoods but also because it undermines the credibility of authentic news and devalues expertise. 

The democratisation of information spearheaded by social media – coupled with users’ demand for quick content – has majorly contributed to the proliferation of fake news in our times. As per the UNESCO-Ipsos Survey on the impact of Online Disinformation and Hate Speech, 64 per cent of respondents in India held social media feeds as the biggest source of disinformation and fake news. Yet, the survey underlines that 1 in 2 urban Indians (56 per cent) rely on social media feeds as their primary source of news and information.  

A study, conducted by the Indian School of Business (ISB) and Cyber Peace, further heightened such concerns by noting that political fake news accounts for the most significant share (46 per cent) of all fake news, followed by religion-related misinformation (16.8 per cent). 

Beyond perils and possibilities

These exceedingly important issues underline the need for a robust, multifaceted, and sensible response framework. In the absence of which, we risk drifting towards a more fragile and divided social order – one that is always on the verge of exploding, indifferent to cultural differences and diversities, and prone to shaming and threatening. 

We are already noticing an exponential rise in relation to serious mental health issues. Any delay in addressing these concerns will only weaken our collective claims of social and emotional well-being.   

At the same time, it would be naïve to only look at the concerns and perils associated with social media. After all, social media platforms have been instrumental in shaping social and political consciousness in many parts of the world. Numerous social movements acquired global visibility through social media. 

Environment and climate justice activists, peace advocates, journalists countering online and offline propaganda and hate, and civil society groups striving for a more peaceful, just and sustainable human future rely extensively on social media to reach out to their audiences and expand their digital presence. 

This makes it clear that meaningful engagement with social media requires exceptional skills, discernment, and critical awareness. 

From consumers to citizens

As we move towards a deeper understanding of this complex digital ecosystem, we become acutely aware of the need for careful balancing acts to promote a more principled use of social media. We find ourselves at the cusp of a defining moment – one where an informed choice can make a profound difference. 

Issues such as fake news and hate speech often stem from a strange and widespread aversion to critical thinking and indifference to verified, authentic information. Thinking becomes the first casualty in a society that gravitates towards instant gratification, effortless convenience, and an unreasonable, fast-paced life. 

Only when we reclaim our roles as citizens rather than mere consumers will we be able to demand credibility and transparency as core constituents of our right to information. Moreover, this will empower us to collectively question misleading content and hate-speech, and to advocate for robust policies that regulate online content alongside ensuring the sanctity of free speech.

Internet governance

In many ways, the challenges posed by social media platforms demand that we invest in a rightful claim as members of this digital age. Given the entanglements, any policy intervention to regulate social media platforms cannot afford to only attend to the firms in question. Internet governance, broadly speaking, ought to be committed to legitimate ways in which democracy can be realised and re-affirmed in a digital society.

Reflecting such concerns, the Supreme Court also observed that “self-styled” mechanisms “will not be effective” in regulating online content. It suggested that an autonomous body “free from influence” oversee social media platforms, while hearing pleas by YouTuber Ranveer Allahabadia and others challenging the FIRs against them over alleged obscene comments in Samay Raina’s India’s Got Latent show.

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, in a note to the court, also said it is planning to amend the Code of Ethics published with the Information Technology Rules, 2021 to incorporate guidelines on obscenity for all digital content, on accessibility for online curated content and on AI and deep fakes.

In this context, UNESCO guidelines for the governance of digital platforms merit a mention. It endorses a multi-stakeholder approach to be reflected in an arrangement by which relevant state authorities, digital platforms, civil society organisations, artists, independent researchers, and other relevant institutions work together to develop rules, regulations, and checks and balances through institutionalised involvement and scrutiny. Such an approach presents an example of constructive convergence of principles. 

Post read questions

In the present digital age, social media has revolutionised our way of communication and interaction. However, it has raised several ethical issues and challenges. Describe the key ethical dilemmas in this regard.

Discuss the unique vulnerabilities faced by children, women, and marginalised groups in online spaces. Suggest measures for safer digital ecosystems.

Why is cyberbullying seen as a public health challenge? Elaborate and suggest measures to address this. 

Examine the challenges associated with developing a regulatory framework for social media in a democracy. How can India avoid the risks of over-regulation while ensuring accountability?

Evaluate the role of social media in the proliferation of fake news in India. What systemic reforms are needed to counter online disinformation?

(Irfanullah Farooqi is an Assistant Professor at the Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode.)

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