Are new rules for social media the need of the hour for India and Europe? Let's discuss

Social media regulations are a hot topic all around the globe.

It was just last week when the Indian government notified the amendments to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021. The rules would foster the setting up of the Grievance Appellate Committee(s) (GAC).

The GAC would oversee the social media content moderation along with the responses by the intermediaries. 

Soon after acquiring Twitter, Elon Musk called for a council for the purpose of content moderation and the European Parliament and the Council of Europe brought forward the Digital Services Act (DSA) that lists down the regulations for diligent and responsible behavior by intermediary service providers among other aspects.

This was one recent incident touching an important subject.

In the recent past, social media playing the role of intermediaries has been a hot topic of discussion, especially on the roundtables of stakeholders.

Is social media regulation necessary? If so, why?

Giant public space status platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and others have their proliferation supported by booming technological possibilities. This has led to many issues of societal concerns and governance.

Across democratic jurisdictions, the exercised freedom has been of great attention.

The important question: should social media be self-regulating or govt mandated?

The question provokes us to think about not one but all the possibilities, pros, and cons.

Should social media platforms be left to themselves? Should they be left to self-regulate according to their own terms and conditions? Or should these terms and conditions be guided by sovereign bodies in a crystal clear form?

Long story short, a decade back, no better approach than self-regulation would have been possible. These platforms enjoyed safe harbor protection.

However, the fact that the space has substantially expanded on many fronts like the misuse of such platforms, active participation from a sovereign government along with independent functioning is the need of the hour.

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