Trump-Twitter spat: Debate rages on role of social media companies

A policy debate is brewing in India on the responsibilities and liabilities of social media platforms. This follows the recent Trump-Twitter spat and the subsequent US presidential executive order to remove the protection cloak worn by such platforms.

In the US, as in India and many other countries, social media platforms enjoy certain safeguards from liabilities arising out of the content posted on them.
 

The US executive order gives regulators the power to take action against online platforms that are seen as censoring free speech.
 

Though operative parts of the order remain ambiguous and open to legal challenge, experts say the