Background
The issue of content moderation is an old one. Thedistinction relevant here is of between a mobile call and a newspaper.
To elaborate content in a phone call cannot be monitored orcurated by the telephone operator and thus the telephone company cannot be heldresponsible for any objectionable content.
A newspaper on the other hand is a curated publication wheredesignated people are responsible for the content that gets published.
With this theoretical background in mind, let us explore theevents taking place in the Indian government and the social media giantTwitter.
Indian Government’s new policies
The Indian Government released guidelines where every post’scontent will need to be cited by a source or the poster will have tosubstantiate if challenged by the relevant authorities.
Also, the government is making distinction between ordinarymedia accounts and the ones owned and managed by bona fide media houses.
The latter will have to depute personnel for the contentwith one officer which will be available round-the-clock. Also time durationfor removal of content if found objectionable.
Twitter as the platform of controversies
Now, Jack Dorsey’s platform has been in news with DonaldTrump’s tweets causing mayhem when he was in power as the President of theUnited States.
Also, nearer home, Kangana Ranaut has been starting fireswith her comments on Twitter on almost everything that is happening in India.This is in addition to her quarrels with a singer.
So, what does Twitter do now?
Jack Dorsey claims that the microblogging platform isadvancing in its accountability by "owning our mistakes and correcting,and reliability by following published principles and not wavering".
He was not shy in admitting publicly that his social media platformas well his rivals’ are facing a "significant trust deficit","... We agree many people don't trust us. Never has this been morepronounced than the last few years... And we aren't alone: every institution isexperiencing a significant trust deficit," he said.
He admitted that they are lacking in transparency and in givingmore choice and control to people.
He claims that he is pledged to make content moderationpolicy of Twitter more transparent in addition to handing more control to users.
Jack Dorsey is hopeful that focus on metrics like choice,reliability, accountability, and transparency will have huge benefits.
Ambitions for the future
He also informed that he is working on doubling the company’sgrowth by the end of 2023. What may be music to the ears of investors ofTwitter, Jack Dorsey expects to double the number of features per employee thatdirectly drive either mDAU (monetisable daily active users) or revenue.
He claimed, "We have a goal of at least 315 millionmDAU in the fourth quarter of 2023, which requires continued compounding growthat about 20 per cent per year from the base of 152 million mDAU we reported inthe fourth quarter of 2019."
Finally, some of the techniques he shared are performanceads, grow brand advertising, and expanding to small- and medium-sizedbusinesses all over the world.