The Platform Question: Power, Accountability and Global South The Platform Question: Power, Accountability and Global South Quack also provides a blank form for users to submit a ticket on any concern/issue/feedback that directs users to its website.117 Aisle allows users to report a profile on grounds including “Not interested”, “inappropriate photos”, “inappropriate messages”, “feels like spam” or “others.” Aisle also provides an in-app support option, which grants relatively more flexibility in reporting. Here, users can report a safety concern under impersonation, harassment or hacked accounts. Users must enter their registered phone number and other personal details, and have an option to provide relevant information in a textbox and upload attachments. Neither platforms provide users an option to report under categories like “sexual harassment/ assault”, “violence”, “child abuse”, “hate speech”, “identity-based abuse”, “stalking”, etc.118 Dating platforms increasingly rely on automated content moderation, which often fall short in interpreting contextheavy speech, particularly in “lowresourced” languages. 50 It does provide the residual “other” category where users can type in a textbox. However, this reporting interface can discourage reporting of sexual harassment, physical abuse or racist, religious, casteist or ethnic abuse, either on the platform or during their offline meetings. This reporting interface falls short of how other dating platforms provide reporting options,119 and the platforms’ own Code of Conduct and Community Guidelines, which prohibit users from threatening or harassing others users, or disseminating material that is discriminatory on the basis of race120 or religion.121 The reporting mechanisms also fall short of the grievance redressal mechanisms mandated under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021 (Intermediary Guidelines).122 As per the intermediary guidelines, all intermediaries need to implement a grievance redressal mechanism for users to report NCII123 (Non-consensual intimate image abuse)124 and “take all reasonable and practicable measures” to remove/disable access to such content within 24 hours.125 Both Quack Quack and Aisle do not provide separate reporting mechanisms or an option within the common reporting mechanisms to specifically report NCII content126 and ensure expedited redressal of these complaints.127 Platform Accountability in Online Dating The inadequacy of content moderation practices of dating platforms in accounting for safety concerns is even more pertinent for multicultural jurisdictions like India. This is due to multiple axes of oppression that must be considered when annotating, identifying or actioning harmful content, including caste, religion and gender.128 For instance, male gig workers recruited for content moderation may not infer harmful comments that Indian women may face online.129 Dating platforms increasingly rely on automated content moderation,130 which often fall short in interpreting contextheavy speech, particularly in “low-resourced” languages.131 132 Moreover, proactive moderation tools like Bumble’s ‘Are You Sure?’ and Tinder’s ‘Does This Bother You?’133 raise concerns of social surveillance and over-policing of sexual behaviour.134 Such features are likely to significantly impact users’ sexual agency in countries like India, where any form of sexual expression outside heteronormative patriarchal morality is strictly policed and sanctioned. Thus, it is important to recognise that the design of safety features, including proactive content moderation, user verification, and collaboration with third parties to detect harm, can also create surveillance and introduce additional safety risks for marginalised communities.135 Towards Meaningful Platform Accountability As global and Indian dating platforms expand their presence, it is important to institute meaningful accountability. Platform design and operation are often divorced from the lived realities of users and inadvertently reinforce heteronormative patriarchal morality and strict adherence to caste endogamy. It is thus important that global dating platforms hire and consult with a diverse set of experts with experience rooted in the local context, while Indian platforms should structure hiring policies to ensure that marginalised castes and minority communities are adequately represented in their leadership and trust and safety teams. Transparency in content moderation In spite of repeated calls for more transparency and accountability on platforms’ safety systems, including complaint-handling and content moderation, there has been very little progress.136 Platform Accountability in Online Dating Platform design and operation are often divorced from the lived realities of users and inadvertently reinforce heteronormative patriarchal morality and strict adherence to caste endogamy. 51