Privacy and Ethics in the Viral Age: The Challenge of Lateral Surveillance
UPSC Relevance
Prelims: Science & Technology (Social Media, Algorithms), Indian Polity (Right to Privacy - Article 21).
Mains:
GS Paper 2: Government policies and interventions (Social Media Regulation).
GS Paper 3: Challenges to internal security through communication networks, role of media and social networking sites in internal security challenges; basics of cyber security.
GS Paper 4 (Ethics): Ethical concerns and dilemmas; Ethics in public and private relationships; Role of family, society and educational institutions in inculcating values.
Essay: Topics on Privacy, Social Media, Ethics in the Digital Age.
Key Highlights from the News
The viral "kiss-cam" incident at a music event raises deep questions about privacy and ethics in modern digital society.
This incident exemplifies "lateral surveillance," where ordinary people monitor and expose each other using smartphones.
Social media platform algorithms, which prioritize emotionally provocative content, cause such incidents to spread rapidly. This is described as "surveillance capitalism."
A private moment becoming global content violates the principle of "contextual integrity" regarding privacy.
It also demonstrates "digital vigilantism," where online crowds try and punish others based on speculation.
Similar incidents have occurred in India. Due to social circumstances here, women and marginalized communities experience the negative effects more severely.
Even traditional media, by picking up viral content before verifying news, questions journalistic ethics.
To solve this problem, public awareness, platform accountability, media ethics, and user self-regulation are necessary.
COMMENTS