Evaluate the role of social media in social movements like #MeToo. What challenges do platforms face in balancing freedom of expression and the prevention of defamation?

Social media has emerged as a powerful instrument of accountability — particularly where institutional grievance mechanisms have systematically failed victims of harassment.

Role in Social Movements

• #MeToo demonstrated crowd-sourced accountability at scale → survivors amplified voices institutions had silenced for decades
• Exposure offers retributive justice where police apathy, victim-blaming, and slow courts deny formal redress
• November 2022 flight harassment case → airline acted only after public social media exposure → institutional responsiveness triggered by reputational threat, not complaint

Challenges for Platforms

• Verification mechanism absent → allegations spread without accountability → anonymity enables false claims
• Natural justice violated → accused faces public trial without opportunity to respond
• Reputational damage immediate and irreversible → no correction mechanism exists
• Delhi HC (2026): Statements can "transcend mere free expression and act as catalyst for public shaming"
• Platform architecture rewards virality over accuracy → incentives misaligned with justice

Verdict Social media fills a genuine institutional vacuum — but cannot replace due process. Platforms must develop verified complaint mechanisms and proportionate response architecture. Regulating victim speech without fixing institutional failures leaves survivors with no channel at all.

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