All a twitter

The Parliamentary Committee on Information Technology’s decision to summon Jack Dorsey, Chief Executive Officer of micro-blogging site Twitter, and his failure to turn up, has generated a storm in social media. While ultra-nationalists are up in arms about this perceived ‘insult’, the fact remains that the Committee does not have jurisdiction over foreign nationals or entities. Nevertheless, the episode is a good opportunity for lawmakers to focus on the more serious task of putting in place a system of checks and balances to prevent misuse of social media. In India, social media is largely unregulated. While this supports free flow of data and freedom of speech, it has also led to the rise of online hate-mongering, abusive language and harassment. Twitter has been accused of bias by some right-wing groups who allege that the network is banning accounts supportive of the BJP. Similar charges have been made by groups on the other end of the ideological spectrum. Twitter on its part has denied taking any action based on account of the users’ ideology. The US-based company has said that it may have taken down accounts which propagated abusive and hateful content.

This is not the first time when social media platforms have been hauled up. In 2011, Facebook was asked by the Centre to pull down objectionable images being uploaded by anti-social elements. Facebook’s initial reaction was to turn down the requests saying that it would only do so under a court order. Recently, WhatsApp declined to decrypt messages or identify users after it was found that messages sent through the messaging service instigated mob lynchings of innocent men. In the US too, a Congressional committee had summoned the CEOs of Facebook, Twitter and Google to testify about misuse of private data after data leaks to Cambridge Analytica came to light. Russia is considering a plan to disconnect itself from the world wide web fearing misuse of social media platform in its domestic politics.

Clearly, social media platforms are more relevant than ever, with implications for privacy, the economy, the distribution of information and the very survival of democracy. Policy-makers must, therefore, put in a framework that brings in transparency in terms of the responsibilities and duties of all stakeholders — users, intermediaries and the government. Internet platforms like Twitter, Facebook and Google should cooperate with lawmakers in building this framework. Twitter should not see India as just a large market but also as the largest democracy in the world that can become the flag-bearer for a free Internet. Therefore, Dorsey must come and engage with Indian parliamentarians not just for the sake of keeping Twitter’s prospects alive in the country but also to be part of a dialogue that is in the larger interest of all netizens. The law makers on their part should approach the issue in a non-partisan manner. They must make it clear that there can be no space for hate-mongers and instigators of violence irrespective of political ideology.

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