Freedom Of Speech In The Digital Age: Social Media Regulation
- IJLLR Journal
- 2 days ago
- 1 min read
Khushboo Israni, Research Scholar, DAVV School of Law
ABSTRACT
Article 19, Freedom of Speech and Expression, plays the most pivotal role in fundamental rights and is the cornerstone of autonomy that encourages open communication among the people through the exchange of ideas and expressions. In recent trends, we find a rapid shift towards technology and digitization that has influenced the entire globe, where individuals increasingly use online platforms to freely connect with each other, exchange their ideas. In the era of social media, where easy access to internet is available worldwide, freedom of speech comes with many consequences that can twist the reality, creating a realm of illusions that makes it difficult to distinguish between genuine and fake. However, their unprecedented scale and influence have raised complex questions regarding regulation, platform accountability, misinformation, hate speech, and user rights. This paper determines the interpretation of freedom of speech and expression in the digital era, regulatory challenges, and frameworks that govern social media platforms in a democratic society. It contends that current legal systems need to evolve in order to strike a balance between protecting the fundamental right to expression and preventing harm, while also ensuring that censorship does not become excessive and that transparency and accountability are maintained.
Keywords: Freedom of speech, Digitalization, Social media platforms, Accountability.
