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@article{175684,
        author = {Prabhjee Kaur Sandhu and Kriti Kapoor},
        title = {Law In The Digital Age Privacy, Speech & Accountability},
        journal = {International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology},
        year = {2025},
        volume = {11},
        number = {11},
        pages = {3886-3893},
        issn = {2349-6002},
        url = {https://ijirt.org/article?manuscript=175684},
        abstract = {The digital age has changed the way societies interact, communicate, and conduct commerce. Social media and online platforms are at the epicentre of this revolution. While these platforms have enabled unprecedented connectivity and freedom of expression, they also pose significant legal and ethical challenges, particularly regarding privacy, free speech, and accountability. This research investigates the dynamic legal landscape, with a focus on how jurisdictions worldwide are responding to the complex interplay between technological innovation and fundamental rights.
The issue of privacy has come to the fore in a world where personal data is often used as a commodity. Data collection practices by social media giants have been seen as raising red flags over issues of consent, data security, and surveillance. The regulatory frameworks that are in place in Europe, for example, are known as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and India's proposed Digital Personal Data Protection Act, all aim to address these issues. However, the transborder nature of digital platforms makes enforcement cumbersome and questions the jurisdictional bounds and international cooperation. More recent trends in content moderation and targeted advertising by using AI exacerbate the privacy concern, since most of the time AI algorithms lack transparency and accountability.
Free speech, a pillar of democratic societies, has a new challenge in the digital realm. Social media platforms play the role of both enablers of expression and arbiters of content in the tenuous balance between curtailing bad speech and protecting the right to express dissenting views. Rise of misinformation, hate speech, and fake news has seen the platforms implement stricter content moderation policies, which mostly spark debates about censorship and bias. The legal development in India, such as the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, also reflects the struggle of striking a balance between the two competing interests while trying to preserve the open nature of the internet.
The question of the accountability of online platforms is still contentious, especially when it comes to their status as intermediaries. Liability for user-generated content is now the focal point that courts and lawmakers are trying to define the responsibilities of the platforms. Such high-profile cases like the Rohingya genocide lawsuit against Facebook have underlined how platforms can be used for harming others if accountability measures are not adequate. Emerging trends, such as pushing for algorithmic accountability and transparency, reflect a more general societal demand for the ethical governance of digital platforms. The role of whistleblowers and investigative journalism in exposing malpractices by platforms has become more prominent, reinforcing the need for robust legal safeguards to ensure accountability.
This research is designed to provide an all-encompassing analysis of these challenges and the innovative legal responses to them. By pointing to recent trends, such as the use of blockchain in data privacy, the development of AI-driven content moderation, and the global push for digital literacy, the paper underscores a dynamic and collaborative approach to governance. The digital age holds in itself unique opportunities to increase well-being in society, but this can be achieved only by navigating the subtle balance between innovation and regulation, rights, and responsibilities.},
        keywords = {},
        month = {April},
        }