Since the advent of social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, MySpace, flickr and Instagram among, users have in more than one instance abused the sites thereby violating others’ rights including the right to privacy. This therefore begs the questions: is it time Social Media was regulated?
Even though many argue at most Internet Governance Forums that it would be impossible to regulate the internet because of its nature, I’d like to differ and argue differently. The notion that it’s impossible to regulate the internet has led most countries not to develop laws that would protect users on social media sites given the ambiguity surrounding the internet.
During the recently-ended FIFA World Cup in Brazil, you could witness the trajectory spikes on social media sites like Twitter and Facebook as fans went about supporting their favourite teams.
A keen analysis however reveals that most of the content bordered on abusive, defamatory or demeaning posts toward a team, fellow fanatic or footballer for that matter. I’m very sure that at some point, one would be offended either directly or indirectly because of the nature of the content that violates one’s right.
In Kenya and across the globe, the English Premier League has become very popular, with fanatics going head to head while supporting bigger teams like Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea among others. Many fans have been shot, massacred and abused virtually. Which leads to the question: how does one get to litigate a social media offense that violates one’s right when there’s no legal provision in most of countries for such offences?
Social Media platforms have lately been used to drive political change in the Arab world. In some of these countries, protesters used these platforms to organize protests, communicate grievances and disseminate information. But to some extent, the rights of the antagonists and protagonists have been abused in the midst of fight for civil rights.
Though other countries have commenced the process of developing and implementing measures aimed to guard against abuse - including deploying software that can filter abusive content - there is need to develop laws that would prevent users from abusing other’s rights on social media.
Success has been achieved in some countries that have implemented laws against cyber-bullying and to some extent having internet censorship which subsequently curtails civil rights, something I do not advocate for because it infringes on freedom of expression and speech.
Some governments, such as those of Burma, Iran, North Korea, the Mainland China, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates restrict what people in these countries can access on the Internet, especially political and religious content. This is accomplished through software that filters domains and content so that they may not be easily accessed or obtained without elaborate circumvention.
In Norway, Denmark, Finland, and Sweden, major Internet service providers have voluntarily - possibly to avoid such an arrangement being turned into law - agreed to restrict access to sites listed by authorities.
While this list of forbidden URLs is supposed to contain addresses of only known child pornography sites, the content of the list is secret.
Many countries, including the United States, have enacted laws against the possession or distribution of certain material, such as child pornography, via the Internet, but do not mandate filtering software. There are many free and commercially available software programs, called content-control software, with which a user can choose to block offensive websites on individual computers or networks, in order to limit a child's access to pornographic materials or depiction of violence.
Without reinventing the wheel, the existing laws would help in formulating laws in Kenya that would regulate use of social media in a very civil manner. Just like an abusive text would land you in jail or lead to a hefty fine in court, same law should be extended to prosecute those social media users who post abusive content that undermine others’ rights.
The Kenyan government has also had a challenge in prosecuting content bordering on hate-speech or online activism that is sometimes driven aggressively by bloggers on social media platforms. As a result of weak laws that lack substantive grounds on prosecution, many have left court rooms ‘social media heroes/heroines’ despite unleashing dragon-like lashing content on individuals and corporates.
(The writer is a Public Relations practitioner at Gina Din Group)
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