You are the CEO of a social media company that has a wide user base. The social network offered by your company has emerged as a platform for people to interact with each other and share news, opinions etc. However, at the same time, women are being repeatedly harassed and cyber bullied through this network. Whenever any instance of harassment is brought to notice of the company, your staff members immediately deactivate the account of the culprit. However, since new accounts can be created easily, such incidents continue to happen. Also, the system to verify one's account details has been deemed lax by public authorities and human rights groups. But in order to increase the user base, you have to ensure that it is easy for a new user to sign up. Increase in the user base leads to more advertisements on your network, which is a source of huge annual turnover for the company. At the same time, in wake of increasing instances of harassment, you also need to tighten the process of creating new accounts and deactivate or delete the ones being misused. 20 (a) Highlight the options available to you in this scenario and evaluate each of them. What course of action will you take and why? (b) Is there a need for having reasonable restrictions on social media for it to remain a platform of healthy and fruitful engagement. Analyse from the viewpoint of different stakeholders.

a) Options available to me :-

(1) Making it very difficult to sign up for the website. Merits → A small likelihood of less abusive accounts being created, and consequent safety. Demerits → Chilling of speech of the majority who wish to sign up because of a few miscreants.

So, this is not advisable.

(2) Letting the status quo remain. This again is not advisable, as it would lead to inaction in the face of adversity. This is nothing but abdication of responsibility.

(3) Deleting accounts and deactivating them. Merits → Easy to do. Demerits →

• New accounts may still be created.
• Unilateral termination of accounts may lead to protests.
• Some innocent accounts may be deleted due to inclusion & exclusion errors.

So, in this scenario I will:

a) Let the signing up process remain easy. This will ensure significant revenue flows.

b) Using these revenue flows to invest in technology that detects abusive accounts.

c) Having a team of forward minded people who will assess these accounts and blacklist them.

d) Giving an opportunity to be heard to the account holder (via email).

e) Termination of account.

This approach will ensure that innocent accounts are not deleted. It will also lead to no negative effects on the company's revenues.

b). Social media is a potent means of spreading rumours, bullying, abusing women and morphing pictures.

In light of the various ways in which it can be misused, there is a need for having reasonable restrictions as no freedom is absolute.

Stakeholders

(A) The victims of online abuse

• They are the most vociferous proponents of having restrictions as they have faced the trauma.

(B) The offenders and trolls

• They will not want any restrictions.

Yet, it is important that they be restricted and possibly reformed.

(C) The companies

• They would not immediately want this to happen as it reduces revenues and increases compliance costs for them. Yet, in larger public interest they must agree.

(D) The government

• In light of maintaining social law and order, the government will be in favour of this.