The use of cybernetic principles to maintain an equilibrium in society has long been the goal of policy organisations. However, it was not until digital technologies became ubiquitous that this actually became real. Now that it has come to pass, it is important to ensure that those at the helm are working in the interests of society.
We need to think about creating “sufficiently decentralized” social networks. While decentralization offers more control to users, it has drawbacks - such as non-unique usernames across the network. If we can use smart contracts to create a decentralized name registry we might be able to balance user control and functionality, and create a more user-empowered internet.
Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter has reignited debates on content moderation and free speech. But today it is not content that is the challenge but context. We need to move from centralized platforms to federated, protocol-based networks, allowing user-controlled, context-sensitive conversations. This is a model already successful in India’s digital public infrastructure. digital public infrastructure content moderation context data governance.
There is a crisis of context in modern information consumption. While data is abundant, understanding its significance requires context. And context is scarce. This leads to misunderstandings and potnetial manipulation of content across a number of fields, including legal education and public communication.
Australia’s media bargaining law that requires digital platforms to share revenues with Australian news companies only allows companies that deal in core news to enter into these revenue-share agreements. This excludes smaller publications and those that provide non-news content. Digital platforms decoupled content from distribution allowing small content providers to reach larger audiences. The Australian legislation will reverse this trend by supporting big new at the cost of independent content providers.
TikTok’s rapid growth has led to scrutiny and opposition from the West, particularly the US, over concerns related to content moderation and data privacy. The US government’s anxiety over not being able to directly regulate TikTok’s data collection may lead to new regulations, potentially influencing how other governments approach the issue.
With the rise of hyper-realistic deepfakes, discerning truth becomes harder. We need to learn to be more skeptical of the content we receive and constantly question its authenticity. Its not hard to do as we have done this before.
A mass exodus from Twitter to Mastodon in India occurred last week, driven by dissatisfaction with the platform. The migration was sparked by the suspension of lawyer Sanjay Hegde’s Twitter account and users are seeking a more respectful environment for debate on Mastodon.
Stripping away anonymity entirely from social media platforms will never ever be useful. Just because a few have taken advantage of online anonymity for nefarious purposes does not mean that everyone else should be denied the many benefits that technology platforms provide.
India’s new IT minister, Ravi Shankar Prasad, has warned social media companies against misuse of their platforms for terrorism and communalism. The statement highlights a divisive debate between national security advocates and privacy proponents. A balanced approach is needed, with tech companies and law enforcement agencies moderating their stances to ensure both security and privacy.
