Twitter debate in India exposes sepoys from both left and right, misses the point

Media and free speech are public goods and right to privacy is very foundation upon which free speech and democracies are built. Algorithms will never be free of bias, more than research. If you don’t understand something as simple as that n tool on Earth - t Twitter – can help you. I have been following Twitter conversations on Twitter in India for past few days and I am pleased to te that stupid people are equally distributed across levels of education, religious beliefs, income brackets and political ideologies. y may be found under stones, in media, behind cupboards, in politics, among commentators and gurus, especially last category. y also have one thing in common - few of m can spell. Twitter is testimony to that.

Twitter, micro-blogging site, has been asked to appear before a committee of Indian Parliament to explain what is deemed as bias in verifying handles (blue tick), bucking or bloating trends, hiving off followers, skewing algorithms and having a prounced tilt against Narendra Modi led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in power. bone of contention is that company is being selective to extent of rousing tensions and fanning social and communal disharmony. Twitter India has said following. “We have a specialized, global team that enforces Twitter Rules. Twitter India employees do t make enforcement decisions. This is by design to ensure fairness and impartiality.” I find this statement remarkably weak and I’ll come to that in a minute.

At time of writing, it is learnt that a member of powerless – refore responsibility - Twitter India will depose before Indian parliamentary committee. India must set a deline to eng constructively with top manment, t pen-pushing staff. Companies and democracies grow in an atmosphere of informed trust and it is critical to eng with right league when re’s a question mark over trust. Policy development is always work in progress that requires sound sense.

That’s t how it’s playing out in India where one can see self-loath to self-promotion in all its shared ugliness. Here’s my favourite. Self-proclaimed champions of free speech boast about blocking people on Twitter. n post tweets about blocking people. n tweet all day about lack of free speech on Twitter free speech on Twitter and curse Twitter for bias.

RE | BJP Warns Twitter Of Repercussions After Its Officials Decline To Appear Before Parliamentary Panel

Or this. Beg people to tweet ir stories privately. When you don’t because story is good, b, you don’t have time to re or simply forgot, expect to be insulted publicly on Twitter with echo chambers being tagged. n re’s worst category – gurus who wouldn’t survive a day in any newsroom, old, new, future media - but who hold forth on Twitter on everything from copy to grammar, news flow to Twitter decks, news breaks to piece to camera (PTCs).

Twitter is an equal opportunity exposer. sepoys in India’s so-called left wing are tweeting in glee that Indian government has got bloody se even before a nationwide conversation has begun. sepoys in India’s so-called right wing are having a mutiny amongst mselves. Both are going for each or’s throats on Twitter inste of combining efforts to demand accountability. I have called out Twitter’s he for his rar ridiculous poster on Brahmin patriarchy as I have requested Twitter to do something with handles that call people Nazis without slightest understanding of how much hurt that causes people.

A leaf for New Delhi from Brussels, seat of European Union (EU) and its Framework Decision on Combatting Racism and Xephobia is instructive.

Last week a press release said: “ EU, its Member States, social media companies and or platforms, all share a collective responsibility to promote and facilitate freedom of expression in online world. At same time, all se actors have a responsibility to ensure that Internet does t become a free haven for violence and hatred.”

European Commission and four major IT companies (Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter and YouTube) came up with a document in 2016 to prevent proliferation of racism and xephobia online. fourth evaluation of this work shows initiative is delivering good results. “IT companies are w assessing 89% of flagged content within 24 hours and 72% of content deemed to be illegal hate speech is removed, compared to 40% and 28% respectively when Code was first launched in 2016. However, companies need to improve ir feedback to users,” says EU. Policy work is always work in progress.

RE | EXCLUSIVE: Twitter Responds To Republic After Snub To Parliament Panel, Maintains Scheduling Defence And Offers To Send India Reps In Interim

w to why I think Twitter is wrong in t empowering its people in India to enforce global rules. Far from speaking to “fairness and impartiality” it les to suspicion for following reasons. And that is directly linked how Twitter sees itself – as an IT company or an information company or both? Issues it must recognise in market it seeks growth include:

* Indians do t think in English. Most of m speak it bly because y speak Indian langus well. That does t make m inferior or superior.

* Twitter does t have bandwidth in India to understand influence of people who are thought leers in Indian langus. Pretending to do so would be foolish and hanging around Delhi and Mumbai as major setting for inputs would be irresponsible.

* re is right wing in India like in United States. In fact, Indians can vote differently in local, state and national elections – ingredients that make for a true democracy. This kind of boxed thinking – are you a Democrat or a Republican – is t how India works.

* re is left wing in India – re are left overs.

As to wher platforms like Facebook, Google or Twitter are media companies or just platforms, my view is clear – y are companies that wear several hats and most disturbing one is ir obstinacy in accepting that ir power to cause dam is far greater than ir stated desire to connect peoples and encour debate. Far from 24/7 news networks, I believe se IT companies have damd newsrooms, especially business models, as y have rules of global engment and compliance. Even a high school debate has rules of engment.

To those in India who want to “throw” Twitter out and Tweet about it all day, here’s a question – how many Indian companies do you think re are in country that are corrupt, receive political patron, break rules, deceive citizens and lie? I am trying to think when was last time anyone of m was asked to depose before a committee of Indian parliament.

Twitter has entered langu. When a word enters langu, it can become very powerful. Twitter has given a voice to millions of people. Let’s gets on with it how cacophous tool can be me better. Eng or be ridiculed forever. On Twitter.

RE | WATCH: 'Twitter Suspended Our Five Accounts, But H To Restore Under Pressure' Claims Tajinder Pal Bagga Lashing Out Over 'political Bias'