Regulation of the Social Media
In most developed countries, the freedom of the media is enshrined in their respective constitutions. The governments play no role in its regulation following the complexity that has resulted from the emergence of the Internet. However, as much as the media is not regulated in such countries, media agencies have a responsibility to air truthful information abiding by the laws of the land. A person may be held accountable for untruthful or defamatory information aired through any media. The traditional media facilitated the enforcement of laws, which ensured that all released contents remained ethical. However, following the invention of the Internet, which is global in scope and/or does not obey any national borders, the freedom of the media was largely boosted to the extent that the government could no longer regulate what is disseminated online via devices such as smartphones. This section explores the effect of the Internet on the governments’ ability to impose regulations.
The Complexity of Regulating Media Industries Because of the Internet
As more countries continue to embrace the new technology, media regulation is proving to be a hectic task for the governments. The anonymity afforded by the Internet and the social media platforms facilitate the sharing of contents that go against the law (van der Nagel & Meese, 2015). For example, social media platforms have led to increased cases of revenge pornography, a situation that is against the law of the land. Revenge pornography has increased in the past few decades, with people using the Internet to post naked images of their lovers in social media platforms, especially after separation or divorce (van der Nagel & Meese, 2015). The action is meant to defame the person in question. Several countries have enacted strict laws to regulate the vice to mitigate violence.
Cases of revenge pornography have been on the rise in many parts of the world. This situation has been brought about by the continued use of technology, specifically the Internet, and the availability of platforms to share such materials. To restrict these kinds of activities, various jurisdictions have formulated laws, using different approaches. These legislations have sort to criminalize and/or outlaw the practice with varying approaches and degrees of success. In the United States, many states have passed such laws to curb the ever-rising cases of revenge pornography brought about by relationships gone wrong. However, as much as such the laws are existent applying mainly to the media, the government has been unable to combat the vice due to the problem of anonymity brought about by the Internet (van der Nagel & Meese, 2015).
In most developing countries, the media has traditionally been under the control of the government due to the lack of democracy. In such countries, people have remained in the dark about most governments’ affairs due following media overregulation. The media in such nations could only air contents that are in favor of the government (Graber & Dunaway, 2014). However, following the evolution of the Internet and the social media, many developing countries have been unable to regulate the media. Instead, they are speedily embracing democracy. Democracy is characterized by the freedom of the media. Hence, democracy is compromised in countries where media agencies are under the control of the government. The media heavily contributes to the evolution of democracy since it educates citizens of their rights and freedoms pertaining to the elections and their expression.
Additionally, the media acts as a venue through which politicians communicate with the citizens. Through such interactions, citizens are enabled to propose policy changes, thus facilitating their participation in decision-making. The traditional media was heavily regulated to the extent that it could not achieve the stated purpose. The social media came as a solution to the problem of overregulation since it provides a venue through which citizens can express their opinions freely. For example, in most countries with dictatorial leadership, demonstrations are organized using the social media since the government is deprived of its ability to regulate the Internet-based media platforms. Some of the media platforms such as the social networks heavily contribute to democracy since they provide an avenue through which citizens can interact with each other and leaders to deliberate on certain issues affecting the country’s governance. In other words, they bring together people and their leaders. Through such Internet-enabled deliberations, citizens are enabled to make policy suggestions to the leaders without any government interruption since the medium used, the Internet, is beyond the control by the administration. Such suggestions are incorporated during the policy formulation process, thus giving citizens the power to participate in policy formulation.
Conclusion
In the recent past, the globe has experienced a sharp growth in the number of social media users. As opposed to the traditional media in which the identity of a content creator could easily be traced, the Internet-based media facilitates the ambiguity of the source, hence making it almost impossible for any government to regulate what is released to users. Today, governments across the world are unable to regulate the media since citizens are empowered to air the content of their choice. This situation has resulted in increased crime and the advancement of democracy in the less democratic nations as discussed in this section.
References
Graber, D., & Dunaway, D. (Eds.). (2014). Mass media and American politics (9th ed.). Washington, DC: CQ Press.
van der Nagel, E., & Meese, J. (2015). Reddit tackles “revenge porn” and celebrity nudes. The Conversation. Web.