When Every Click Is A Gavel: The Algorithmic Transformation Of Justice Through Viral Outrage, Digital Vigilantism, And Cancel Culture
- IJLLR Journal
- 4 minutes ago
- 1 min read
Bipasha Sinha, (B.A. LL.B. Integrated), School of Legal Studies, Babu Banarasi Das University, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India
ABSTRACT
Social media platforms have created a parallel justice system that threatens core principles of democratic adjudication. This article analyzes how 'digital penal populism' operates through three interconnected mechanisms: algorithmically amplified moral outrage that manufactures instant consensus on guilt; 'cancel culture' as distributed social sanctioning that inflicts permanent reputational destruction; and viral pre-trial publicity that renders fair trials structurally impossible. Through examination of landmark cases including Casey Anthony, Depp v. Heard, and the Aarushi Talwar prosecution, this research demonstrates that platform-mediated justice systematically inverts the presumption of innocence, creating a 'temporal asymmetry' where social verdicts precede legal adjudication and acquittals cannot restore innocence. The current legal framework proves inadequate: defamation law fails to address weaponized decontextualization, intermediary liability regimes incentivize either censorship or impunity, and traditional fair trial protections cannot contain borderless digital outrage. This constitutional crisis demands comprehensive reform including modernized defamation standards based on 'contextual reasonableness,' strengthened sub judice protections, mandatory algorithmic transparency, and robust platform accountability mechanisms. Without substantive intervention, the rule of law risks permanent displacement by algorithmic governance, where justice is determined not by evidence and procedure but by the volatile logic of viral condemnation.
Keywords: Digital Penal Populism, Algorithmic Justice, Cancel Culture, Presumption of Innocence, Digital Vigilantism, Fair Trial Rights
