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Ethical Dilemmas Posed by Social Media | UPSC Ethics Notes

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Ethical Dilemmas posed by Social Media

Social media has transformed communication, enabling real-time global interaction. However, it simultaneously raises serious ethical dilemmas rooted in conflicts between equally valid values.

Ethical Dilemmas

  • Privacy vs. transparency: Platforms harvest vast personal data without meaningful consent, threatening individual autonomy — yet transparency demands open information flows for accountability. 
    • The Cambridge Analytica scandal revealed that personal data from up to 87 million Facebook users was harvested without consent via a third-party app. This data was used to create psychographic profiles, allowing for targeted political advertising aimed at manipulating voting behavior in the US election 
  • Freedom of expression vs. harm prevention: Restricting hate speech, misinformation, and radicalisation is necessary to protect society, yet over-regulation risks authoritarianism and stifles legitimate dissent — a direct conflict between liberty and security.
  • Anonymity vs. accountability: Anonymity protects whistleblowers and marginalised voices but simultaneously shields cyberbullies, trolls, and anti-social actors from consequences.
  • Individual autonomy vs. algorithmic control: AI-driven content curation claims to personalise user experience, yet it manipulates choices, creates echo chambers, and overrides informed independent thinking.
  • Mental Health vs. Engagement Economy: Features like likes, endless scrolling, and notifications maximize platform revenue, yet they fuel addiction, anxiety, and eroded self-esteem — pitting commercial freedom against individual well-being.
  • Digital Divide vs. Equal Access: Social media empowers connected populations with information and opportunity, yet unequal access deepens existing social inequalities, excluding the already marginalised.
  • Surveillance vs. Civil Liberties: State monitoring of social media can prevent terrorism and crime, yet mass surveillance threatens freedom of expression, privacy, and democratic dissent.

Addressing these dilemmas requires robust data protection laws, digital literacy, ethical AI design, and inclusive platform governance rooted in the values of justice, liberty, and human dignity.

Sample Mains Questions

Q1. Social media has raised several ethical dilemmas in the digital age. Discuss.
(150 words, 10 marks)

Q2. Explain the ethical dilemma between freedom of expression and harm prevention in social media regulation.
(150 words, 10 marks)

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