Challenges in Monitoring Social Media

  • Server Location and Laws of Different Countries: Lack of Geographical Boundaries makes social media regulation an arduous task. Major complicating factors to secure the networks and Media are the hardware and software that make up the communications ecosystem is sourced externally.

Comment Torments

Recent trends shows rising of critical statements/ trolling where often people with their misguided thoughts get confused with the Right to Free Speech. Right to Free Speech is guaranteed under Article 19 of the Indian Constitution which is a fundamental right where it was never meant to be a license to vilify or cause pain and hurt to others. Right to Free Speech is meant to guarantee right to air a fair comment and definitely not a protection for expressing whatever that crossed one’s mind. Thus, we can conclude that social media is unforgiving, it’s a victory if your comment hurt someone somewhere. Bland and matter of fact views have no takers.

  • Encrypted Message: Use of phones/WhatsApp to send and receive messages, concerns the government because the communications sent via such devices and applications are encrypted and could not be monitored and consequently hinders the country’s efforts to fight terrorism and crime.
  • Complicated Networks: The task of securing the networks is also complicated by the fact that much of the infrastructure is in the hands of private companies who see measures such as security auditing and other regulations and frameworks as adding to their costs. Source of Origin is difficult to find out.

Social Media’s Overreach

Social media is often misused to mobilize youth in several “militant” operations. On several occasions an unprecedented ban on Whatsapp, Facebook and Twitter in Kashmir has highlighted social media’s role in energizing an insurgency that has roiled the disputed Himalayan region for decades.

Several contents floating in social media such as “Azad Kashmir filter (FB), defaming deities etc.” are often found in these media sites which many a time challenges the sovereignty of the nation and propagates the ideas of separatist tendencies among the young masses. Radical influencer such as ISIS, Laskar-e-taiba uses such articles to enrage and infuriate masses. Restricting these activities is becoming a very challenging event for the government.

Security Challenges Posed by the Social Media

  • Lack of Privacy: Most people believe the age of privacy is now over and are, apparently, unconcerned about the data that is captured about them.
  • Radicalistaion of the Youth: Of late, terrorist groups take advantage of it to communicate with cybercrime organisations and to coordinate along with them fundraising activities (from illicit activities) carried out in part (drug smuggling, gunrunning) or completely (e.g. phishing) on the Internet.
  • Echo Chambers, Polarisation and Hyper-partisanship: In many ways, the design of certain social media platforms mirrors the growing volume of partisan media in traditional channels. As they increasingly become a primary distribution channel, social media platforms create bubbles of one-sided information and opinions, perpetuating biased views and diminishing opportunities for healthy discourse.
  • Spread of False or Misleading Information: Viral disinformation or misinformation, commonly dubbed “fake news”, runs rampant across social media channels, disseminated by both state and private actors. These false and distorted pieces of information can intensify divisiveness and make it difficult for people to trust both what they read as well as the people and institutions they are reading about.
  • Conflation of Popularity with Legitimacy: The idea that likes or retweets can be used to measure validity or mass support for a person, message or organisation creates a distorted system of evaluating information and provides a false pulse on the popularity of certain views. This is compounded by how challenging it is to distinguish legitimately expressed opinions from those generated by trolls and bots.
  • Political Manipulation: Such as trolls and bots, disguised as ordinary citizens, have become a weapon of choice for governments and political leaders to shape online conversations. Governments in Turkey, China, Israel, Russia and the United Kingdom are known to have deployed thousands of hired social media operatives who run multiple accounts to shift or control public opinion.
  • Manipulation, Micro-targeting and Behaviour Change: Advertisers and their sophisticated targeting mechanisms drive the attention economy. Not all of these messages look like ads or are visible to anyone outside the target population, as was the case with Facebook’s admissions surrounding Russian-sponsored ads purchased during the US election. This model further widens the gap between publishers and journalists and erodes the revenue and sustainability of traditional news organisations charged with holding the powerful accountable.
  • Intolerance, Exclusion and Hate Speech: Various policies and features of these platforms can amplify hate speech, terrorist appeals, and racial and sexual harassment. These environments can deter those targeted by hate speech from engaging in the conversation.

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