Conflicts and a settings change for social media 

News: Armed conflicts within and between states like the current Ukraine-Russian conflict have also have had some influence on cyberspace over the years. 

Social media platforms have gone by the mantra of “tech neutrality” to avoid taking decisions that may be considered political for too long. However, there is need for some norms for social media as they have a huge amount of influence on our daily lives. 

What is the need for a framework of conduct for social media platforms wrt global conflicts? 

There is need for content moderation on these platforms. Information here can be operationalised and used to exacerbate conflicts. However, most social media giants are yet to create institutional capacity to deal with such situations. 

They act as conduit for further amplification of content on other platforms. Major social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter also provide space for extremist views from smaller platforms, which makes the identification of original user of content difficult. 

There is a huge issue of Misinformation and disinformation on these platforms. Although, algorithmic solutions are widely put to use to address them, these algorithmic solutions sometimes have harming the already resource-scarce party.  

What role can India play? 

The lack of coherent norms on state behaviour in cyberspace as well as the intersection of business, cyberspace, and state activity is an opportunity for India.

– India can initiate a new track of conversations here which can benefit the international community at large.  

– Ultimately, this will contribute to maintaining a rule-based word order that can greatly benefit India. 

What is the way forward? 

There is a need

– for a protocol that outlines the norms of behaviour on social media during such situations that can help in addressing the multitude of evolving factors. 

– to create a balance between the business interests of social media platforms and their intersection with global public life in critical situations.  

Source: This post is based on the article “Conflicts and a settings change for social media” published in The Hindu on 7th March 2022.