Background
The issue of content moderation is an old one. The distinction relevant here is of between a mobile call and a newspaper.
To elaborate content in a phone call cannot be monitored or curated by the telephone operator and thus the telephone company cannot be held responsible for any objectionable content.
A newspaper on the other hand is a curated publication where designated people are responsible for the content that gets published.
With this theoretical background in mind, let us explore the events taking place in the Indian government and the social media giant Twitter.
Indian Government’s new policies
The Indian Government released guidelines where every post’s content will need to be cited by a source or the poster will have to substantiate if challenged by the relevant authorities.
Also, the government is making distinction between ordinary media accounts and the ones owned and managed by bona fide media houses.
The latter will have to depute personnel for the content with one officer which will be available round-the-clock. Also time duration for removal of content if found objectionable.
Twitter as the platform of controversies
Now, Jack Dorsey’s platform has been in news with Donald Trump’s tweets causing mayhem when he was in power as the President of the United States.
Also, nearer home, Kangana Ranaut has been starting fires with her comments on Twitter on almost everything that is happening in India. This is in addition to her quarrels with a singer.
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So, what does Twitter do now?
Jack Dorsey claims that the microblogging platform is advancing 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 platform as well his rivals’ are facing a "significant trust deficit", "... We agree many people don't trust us. Never has this been more pronounced than the last few years... And we aren't alone: every institution is experiencing a significant trust deficit," he said.
He admitted that they are lacking in transparency and in giving more choice and control to people.
He claims that he is pledged to make content moderation policy 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’s growth by the end of 2023. What may be music to the ears of investors of Twitter, Jack Dorsey expects to double the number of features per employee that directly drive either mDAU (monetisable daily active users) or revenue.
He claimed, "We have a goal of at least 315 million mDAU in the fourth quarter of 2023, which requires continued compounding growth at about 20 per cent per year from the base of 152 million mDAU we reported in the fourth quarter of 2019."
Finally, some of the techniques he shared are performance ads, grow brand advertising, and expanding to small- and medium-sized businesses all over the world.