Accountability In the Digital Age: Exploring Privacy and Free Speech on Social Media Platforms

DOI

10.2991/978-2-38476-426-6_8How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Digital Age; Global; Online Speech; Transparency; Fundamental Rights

Abstract

In today’s digital landscape, social media networks serve as foundational platforms and forums for what we define as the public sphere of discourse, collaboration, communication, and expression. However, as these platforms rapidly proliferate, important questions arise as the industry reckons with the balance between user stress, free speech, and accountability. This study assesses the complex interplay between user privacy and free speech on social media, all while urging the regulation of platforms and their responsibility for harmful content and misuse of personal data. By using a comparative analysis of global regimes and legal history, this document systematically evaluates how each jurisdiction balances private companies’ responsibilities to address users’ concerns about privacy, engage with the moderation of certain content, and provide transparency. Additionally, we seek to explore the ramifications of platform policies, normed user data handling, and the onus of governments to provide accountability to their citizens. The paper illustrates many of the challenges of social media as a global, public platform where the boundaries between the role of corporate private and public discussion have diminished, thus creating the need for a unified regulatory approach. Overall, this work seeks to suggest a balanced framework that upholds fundamental rights, supports user agency in their online speech, and achieves transparency and accountability across the digital realm.

Copyright

© 2025 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

Download article (PDF)

TY  - CONF
AU  - Shreya Shreya
AU  - Archana Vashishth
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/06/06
TI  - Accountability In the Digital Age: Exploring Privacy and Free Speech on Social Media Platforms
BT  - Proceedings of the National Seminar on Enhancing Privacy Protection in the Digital Age: Legal Challenges & Innovations (NSEPPDA 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 114
EP  - 140
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-426-6_8
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-426-6_8
ID  - Shreya2025
ER  -