Pal: Free speech absolutist Elon Musk isn’t so free in India
Wednesday, 02/01/2023
India’s government is censoring a BBC documentary on social media platforms, alleging the contents of the documentary are anti-Indian propaganda.
On Wednesday, Twitter complied with the Indian government’s censorship request. An article by Forbes discusses the implications of this decision, and what it means for free speech absolutist Elon Musk.
University of Michigan School of Information associate professor Joyojeet Pal, an expert on the role of technology in democracy and labor, talks to Forbes about the free speech sacrifices social media platforms must make in India in order to continue doing business.
"It is not possible for the social media platforms to push back against the Indian government," Pal says. "For one, India is the single largest subscriber base for Whatsapp, Youtube, Facebook etc. and they need to do business in India. The current laws also allow for an appointee of the government to require the platforms to take things down, so it's arguable they don't have the choice in the matter with regard to what is made available."
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Read “Free Speech Absolutist Elon Musk Removed BBC Documentary Critical Of India’s Leader.”
Learn more about associate professor of information Joyojeet Pal by visiting his UMSI faculty profile.
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Noor Hindi
Public Relations Specialist