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By:

Correspondent

23 August 2024 at 4:29:04 pm

Algorithmic Anarchy

The NEET paper leak protests at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar should have remained a legitimate expression of student anger over the collapse of examination integrity. Instead, as the agitation escalated into clashes with the police, abusive sloganeering and an increasingly radical political campaign, Meta’s algorithms emerged as an invisible force multiplying the unrest. The controversy surrounding the brief removal of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s message to the youth in the aftermath of the...

Algorithmic Anarchy

The NEET paper leak protests at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar should have remained a legitimate expression of student anger over the collapse of examination integrity. Instead, as the agitation escalated into clashes with the police, abusive sloganeering and an increasingly radical political campaign, Meta’s algorithms emerged as an invisible force multiplying the unrest. The controversy surrounding the brief removal of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s message to the youth in the aftermath of the protests only reinforces that concern. Meta has attributed the takedown to a “technical glitch” and apologised. But when the world’s largest social media platform can temporarily suppress the message of the elected leader of the world’s largest democracy during a politically charged moments, the issue extends well beyond a single deleted post. Who decides what India sees? That question has become impossible to ignore during the Cockroach Janta Party’s protests. Across Instagram and Facebook, users have reported being inundated with CJP videos, reels and protest clips despite never following the organisation or engaging with similar political content. Whether this resulted from coordinated paid collaborations, recommendation algorithms or both deserves a thorough investigation. But the larger democratic concern is that public opinion is increasingly being mediated not by citizens, journalists or elected representatives, but by opaque algorithms designed in Silicon Valley and optimised for engagement rather than democratic responsibility. Meta’s recommendation engine is not a passive notice board. Every piece of political content that reaches millions has first been selected by an algorithm whose workings remain largely hidden from public scrutiny. This is hardly unique to India. Around the world, Meta has repeatedly been accused of amplifying polarisation, misinformation and political extremism because outrage keeps users engaged. From elections to ethnic conflicts and episodes of civil unrest, the company has faced persistent criticism that its commercial incentives reward divisive content over balanced discourse. Democracies cannot afford to outsource the architecture of public debate to corporations whose primary obligation is to shareholders rather than constitutional values. While citizens are entitled to challenge governments and demand accountability, there is an important distinction between a movement that expands because people are persuaded and one that appears to be algorithmically amplified into omnipresence. Equally disturbing has been the normalisation of abusive political language during the protests. When such content is repeatedly amplified through recommendation systems, platforms cease to be neutral intermediaries and become active participants in degrading democratic discourse. Platforms that influence elections, protests and public opinion must explain how political recommendations are generated and why particular narratives receive extraordinary amplification. Silicon Valley companies insist they are merely technology platforms. But their algorithms increasingly exercise editorial power. When software determines which protests dominate national conversations and whose voices disappear, technology has already become politics.

Why Is Opposition Afraid of Rashmi Shukla?

Updated: Nov 29, 2024

Rashmi Shukla

Mumbai: The opposition Congress has questioned IPS officer Rashmi Shukla being reinstated as the Director General of Police (DGP) of Maharashtra. Shukla was transferred two weeks before the Maharashtra Assembly polls following the Election Commission’s directive after the Congress lead MVA had raised objections over her impartiality.


The state home department formalized her reappointment late Monday, after the election code of conduct ended, and she resumed her duties as the state’s top police officer today. Sanjay Kumar Verma, who served as interim DGP, returned to his original position as DG Legal and Technical. However, the Congress claimed that the EC order had called for Shukla’s permanent removal as DGP.


Shukla, the IPS office from 1988 batch was due to retire in June, was given a two-year tenure as DGP in January this year. The opposition had protested against the state government’s decision even back then. The Congress now demanded that Shukla be asked to retire, arguing that her service extension was specifically for the DGP role and should terminate upon vacating the position. Congress Maharashtra chief Nana Patole wrote to the EC, stating that any reassignment would be legally impermissible.


Further, Congress chief spokesperson Atul Londhe also accuse Shukla of meeting DCM Devendra Fadnavis at his official residence on November 23, during the vote counting for the Assembly elections, while the Model Code of Conduct was still in effect.


The Opposition doesn’t want Shukla to be in the post because it claims that Shukla, as head of the State Intelligence Department (SID), tapped the calls of Opposition leaders, including NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar, Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut, and Nana Patole, while the Fadnavis-led BJP was in power until 2019.


After the MVA came to power in 2019, Shukla was viewed as being close to the BJP government and was transferred to Civil Defence in 2020. In February 2021, she was sent on central deputation as the Additional Director General of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and later as the head of the Sashastra Seema Bal.


Following her departure from Maharashtra, two FIRs were registered against her in February and March 2022 for allegedly tapping the phones of Opposition leaders and leaking information to Fadnavis. After the FIRs were registered, Shukla moved court. The police then registered another FIR in which Shukla was not named as an accused.


After Shinde government came to power in June 2022, the third case was transferred to the CBI. In September 2023, the Bombay High Court quashed two of the three FIRs against her. The third case was also closed after the court accepted the CBI’s closure report, paving the way for her return to the state.


Poll process over, Shukla returns as DGP

Mumbai: Senior IPS officer Rashmi Shukla on Tuesday assumed the charge as the Maharashtra DGP, a day after she was reinstated to the post following the conclusion of the state assembly elections.


Shukla paid tributes to martyrs at the Commissioner of Police Office in south Mumbai, an official said.


The order reinstating Shukla as the Director General of Police was issued by the state home department on Monday evening. Shukla was removed from the DGP’s post on the Election Commission of India’s directives ahead of the state assembly elections and sent on compulsory move after Congress complained about her.


Sanjay Kumar Verma had taken over as the state’s top police officer in the absence of Shukla. He was to hold the top post till the election process concluded. With the completion of the electoral process and announcement of election results, the Model Code of Conduct ceased to be in force on Monday, the home department order said.


Consequently, the government has ended Shukla’s period of forced leave and she has been asked to resume her role as DGP, it said.


The BJP-led Mahayuti coalition retained power with a thumping majority in the assembly elections.


An IPS officer of the 1988 batch, Shukla is the first woman to hold the position of Maharashtra DGP. Shukla had earlier served as the commissioner of the State Intelligence Department. She was embroiled in a controversy during the previous Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government’s tenure when she was named as an accused in an alleged phone tapping case. The Bombay High Court in September 2023 quashed two FIRs registered against Shukla.

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