Need for Ethical governance in social media industry

Published on 25 Nov 2025

• Data Privacy: Ethical governance in social media necessitates robust data privacy measures and ensures that user data is handled responsibly and transparently. 

• Example: “Aadhaar data breach” incident raised concerns about stringent data privacy regulations and led to the drafting of the Personal Data Protection Bill.

• Content Moderation and Harmful Content: Ethical governance includes responsible content moderation policies that prevent the dissemination of harmful, offensive, or misleading content. 

• Example: Twitter’s efforts to combat online harassment and hate speech involve the development of policies and tools to identify and remove harmful content. 

• Algorithmic Transparency and Bias: Ethical governance mandates algorithm transparency in social media platforms, addressing worries about bias and user well-being while promoting fairness.

• Example: YouTube’s algorithm has faced criticism for promoting extremist content in which ethical governance aims to reduce algorithmic bias and enhance user trust.

• User Safety and Mental Health: Ethical governance promotes user safety and mental health by addressing issues like cyberbullying, addiction, and the impact of social media on mental well-being. 

• Example: Instagram introduced features like “Take a Break” and “You’re All Caught Up” to promote healthy usage and reduce addiction. 

• Disinformation: Ethical oversight of social media pertains to their influence on public opinion, especially in politics, preventing disinformation, securing elections, and ethical political advertising.

• Example: Social media companies like Facebook and Twitter have taken steps to combat disinformation, including fact-checking and the labeling of misleading content during elections.

Tags:
Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude

Keywords:
Need for Ethical governance in social media industry Ethical governance social media

Syllabus:
General Studies Paper 4

Topics:
Public Service Values