Freedom Under Watch: Social Media Policing And The Gendered Boundaries Of Expression In India
- IJLLR Journal
- 7 hours ago
- 2 min read
Chandrima Mondal, BA LLB, UILS, Chandigarh University.
ABSTRACT
This article investigates the complex interaction between women’s freedom of expression in India and the policing of social media. Digital platforms have created opportunities for women to gain visibility, communicate with others, and participate in public discourse, but they have also made women vulnerable to a myriad of online threats, including harassment, stalking, and violence. Policing of social media has developed as a way of dealing with these abuses, through the legal framework of the Information Technology Act of 2000 and constitutional protections regarding free speech and privacy. However, the article contends that social media policing exists amid a wider patriarchal construct and often leads to excessive regulation of women’s voices through moral policing and censorship pursuant to vague definitions of decency and morality. From a feminist standpoint, digital governance is often presented as a neutral platform; rather, it exhibits existing social prejudices that disproportionately affect women. Although the mechanisms for policing provide women with protection and relief, they can also be impediments to a woman’s autonomy; compel women to engage in self- censorship; and diminish an individual’s right to freedom of expression and privacy. The study indicates that there are several barriers to enforcing the laws surrounding social media, including a lack of awareness, inadequate training for law enforcement personnel, and little transparency or accountability in government regulation of social media or platform regulation. This study concludes that police use of social media must be balanced with individuals' rights; safety must not be achieved at the expense of freedoms, and gender-sensitive enforcement and granting authority to women must occur.
Keywords: Social Media Policing, Gender-Based Online Violence, Freedom of Expression, Digital Governance, Feminist Perspective, Accountability, Content Moderation, Cyber Harassment, Moral Policing.
