The Platform Question: Power, Accountability and Global South The Platform Question: Power, Accountability and Global South often at the cost of weaker accountability mechanisms. The European Union’s rights-based framework, through the Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act, prioritizes transparency, systemic risk assessment, and user protection. India, navigating a complex digital and political landscape, is steadily moving toward a model of state-led oversight and personal liability that raises critical concerns around censorship and due process. Brazil’s evolving jurisprudence demonstrates a shift toward shared responsibility between platforms and the state, while China’s centralized model illustrates the consequences of absolute state control where speech is tightly monitored and dissent systematically curtailed. Another growing trend in global platform regulation is the rise of global or extraterritorial takedown orders, where courts or governments in one country direct platforms to remove certain content not only within their borders but worldwide. While intended to prevent harmful or unlawful material from resurfacing in other regions, these orders often raise complex questions of jurisdiction, sovereignty, and free expression. These orders also reflect a growing assertion of national sovereignty in the digital space and the state’s intent to control how information circulates across platforms that operate globally. Such orders raise complex questions about jurisdiction, free expression, and the balance between local laws and global norms. When one nation’s standards are applied globally, it risks overreach, conflicting legal obligations for platforms, and the gradual fragmentation of the open internet.[22] When one nation’s standards are applied globally, it risks overreach, conflicting legal obligations for platforms, and the gradual fragmentation of the open internet. 26 What emerges from these comparative frameworks is a global dynamic of the relationship between platforms, governments, and users. Platforms are no longer neutral intermediaries, they are active contributors of information, influence, and power, which is why they should not be allowed to operate without transparency or accountability. However, excessive regulation and criminal liability risks can equally undermine digital civic space and suppress legitimate expression. The challenge, therefore, lies in designing governance systems that preserve the internet’s openness while ensuring that those who design and profit from it remain answerable to the society. discourse, and digital autonomy in an era where platforms function as both the marketplace and the medium of modern life. The goal must be to create frameworks that are rightsrespecting, transparent, and adaptable, so that the internet remains a safe public space. Endnotes: [1] Olaniran B and Williams I, “Social Media Effects: Hijacking Democracy and Civility in Civic Engagement,” Rhetoric, Politics and Society (Springer International Publishing 2020) [2] Sylvia Lu, Algorithmic Opacity, Private Accountability, and Corporate Social Disclosure in the Age of Artificial Intelligence, 23 Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment and Technology Law 99 (2020) [3] Khondker, H. H. (2011). Role of the new media in the Arab Spring. Globalizations, 8(5), 675–679 [4] “Facebook Admits It Was Used to ‘incite Offline Violence’ in Myanmar” (BBC News, November 6, 2018) [5] Youn S, “Facebook Admits Its AI Failed to Flag the New Zealand Terror Attack Livestream” ABC News (March 21, 2019) [3] Khondker, H. H. (2011). Role of the new media in the Arab Spring. Globalizations, 8(5), 675–679 [4] “Facebook Admits It Was Used to ‘incite Offline Violence’ in Myanmar” (BBC News, November 6, 2018) [5] Youn S, “Facebook Admits Its AI Failed to Flag the New Zealand Terror Attack Livestream” ABC News (March 21, 2019) [6] Volokh, E. (2023). Free Speech in the Digital Age. UCLA Law Review, 70(4), 987–1023. In the coming years, the global debate will not merely be about moderating content, but about defining who moderates the moderators, how to safeguard human rights, democratic Platform Regulations Across the Globe Platform Regulations Across the Globe In the coming years, the global debate will not merely be about moderating content, but about defining who moderates the moderators, how to safeguard human rights, democratic discourse, and digital autonomy in an era where platforms function as both the marketplace and the medium of modern life. 27