Big Tech’s Fail — Unsafe Online Spaces for Women (GS Paper 3, Technology)
Context
- The ongoing U.S. presidential race has highlighted a pressing issue—how technology and online spaces often pose a significant threat to the safety and dignity of women.
- As women, particularly those in positions of power, engage more in public life, they face increasingly hostile digital environments fueled by misinformation, disinformation, and cyber harassment.
Introduction
- Kamala Harris, U.S. Vice President and the presumptive Democratic nominee for the 2024 U.S. presidential election, became a target of severe online abuse.
- As soon as her candidacy was confirmed, she faced not just political opposition, but also AI-generated deepfakes, racist and sexist trolling, and personal attacks questioning her integrity and American identity.
- This raises critical questions about Big Tech's responsibility in curbing digital violence, particularly when it disproportionately impacts women.
Targeting of Kamala Harris During Her Candidacy
- Early Attacks: Before Harris even formally entered the race, memes mocking her mannerisms and creating negative portrayals circulated online. Once her candidacy was announced, attacks escalated, focusing on her birth, character, and political capability.
- Manipulated Content: One notorious example was a deepfake video in which a fabricated voice of Harris falsely claimed that President Biden was senile and that she didn’t know “the first thing about running the country.” This video, shared by Elon Musk, gained significant traction.
- Relentless Trolling: Alongside deepfakes, Harris was subjected to mocking and derogatory content from high-profile figures like former President Donald Trump, who called her "crazy" and mocked her laugh. Right-wing figures, including media personalities, also spread demeaning content, painting her as a political lightweight.
- Sexualised and Derogatory Content: AI-generated videos of Harris engaged in a fabricated romantic relationship with Donald Trump also emerged. These videos spread quickly, despite being obviously fake, underscoring the dangerous power of AI in perpetuating harmful narratives.
Broader Context of Harassment
Harris’s ordeal is not an isolated incident. Women in power and aspiring leaders worldwide face similar abuse:
- Nikki Haley, a U.S. politician running in the Republican primaries, was subjected to manipulated explicit images.
- Giorgia Meloni, Italy's Prime Minister, was targeted with deepfake content and explicit videos.
- In Bangladesh, during the 2024 general elections, deepfake images of female politicians such as Rumin Farhana and Nipun Roy circulated widely.
These cases raise urgent questions: Why do platforms allow this harmful content to spread? What content moderation systems are in place, and why are they failing to protect women?
The Impact of Online Abuse on Women
Big Tech’s failure to address online harassment has severe consequences. Women, especially in leadership positions, bear a disproportionate burden:
- Psychological Harm: Women are subjected to objectification, sexualised content, and body-shaming, which can deeply affect their mental well-being.
- Gender-Specific Abuse: Unlike men, who may face political smears, women often face harassment that is explicitly sexual or involves personal attacks on their appearance or character.
The lack of accountability among social media platforms is exacerbated by 'safe harbour' protections, which shield tech companies from legal responsibility for content posted by users. This allows companies to claim that they cannot control the content shared on their platforms, despite the significant impact of this content on individuals.
The Myth of Empowerment Through Technology
- Technology, particularly AI, is often hailed as a tool for empowering women. However, it can reflect societal biases and exacerbate gender inequalities.
- AI systems are predominantly developed by male engineers and data sets often reflect deep-rooted societal gender stereotypes, making them ineffective in addressing the unique challenges women face online.
- Rather than empowering women, AI and digital technologies can become tools for abuse, amplifying existing prejudices and enabling the harassment of women in unprecedented ways.
Risks of Digital Abuse and Violence
- As AI evolves, digital abuse against women is only expected to increase.
- This includes threats, online harassment, and even cyberstalking.
- The risks are compounded by the fact that AI systems often lack the inclusivity needed to counteract discrimination and effectively protect women from harm.
- Representation in tech development is another critical issue.
- Studies show that women are grossly underrepresented in AI development, with companies like Meta, Google, and OpenAI having low female participation.
- Without a diverse group of developers, the systems we build are more likely to overlook the needs of marginalized groups, including women.
Impact on Women in Leadership and Ordinary Women
The challenges faced by women in leadership, such as Prime Minister Meloni or Vice President Harris, are mirrored by those experienced by ordinary women:
- Digital Harassment can lead many women to stop using digital devices or have their access restricted by families, limiting their opportunities in education, employment, and public life.
This digital exclusion reinforces gender inequalities and limits women’s participation in social and political spheres.
The Responsibility of Platforms
Social media platforms must take responsibility for the content shared on their sites. Despite advances in technology, Big Tech continues to fail to develop adequate safety features and effective content moderation systems.
- The Current System: Although platforms often label AI-generated content, this measure has proven ineffective in protecting individuals from the harm caused by fake and manipulated media. Removing harmful content entirely, especially explicit material, is critical to stopping its spread and reducing the damage done.
- The Role of Tech Leaders: The spread of misinformation and deepfakes is made worse when tech leaders themselves share such content, either knowingly or unknowingly. This can lead to widespread confusion, especially among users who may not be able to distinguish real from fake.
Beyond Clicks and Likes — The Need for Content Moderation
Effective content moderation is essential to combatting the abuse women face online. Big Tech should ensure that content moderation teams are not just a formality but a necessity. Key steps include:
- Timely Review of Harmful Content: Platforms must review harmful content in a timely manner. Delays in removing abusive content can exacerbate harm and violate platform policies.
- Review of Harmful Apps: Apps that promote explicit or harmful content should be removed from app stores.
- Responsibility Sharing: Platforms must share the responsibility of removing harmful content, ensuring users do not have to bear the burden of reporting and following up on problematic material.
Way Forward
- Increasing Female Representation in Tech: There is a critical need to involve more women in technology development, especially in AI, to ensure that digital tools are inclusive and gender-sensitive.
- Safety Measures and Bias Testing: To ensure gender-safe online spaces, AI systems should undergo bias testing, and platforms should invest in gender-neutral algorithms that are fair and effective in protecting all users, particularly women.
- Legal and Policy Support: Governments must implement stronger regulations to prevent the spread of harmful content and ensure tech companies are held accountable for failing to protect their users.
- User Empowerment: Women must be encouraged to take proactive action against online harassment by reporting abuse and seeking support when needed.
Conclusion
- The responsibility of making technology safe and inclusive for women lies primarily with tech companies, followed by governments and regulatory bodies.
- Big Tech must step up to ensure gender-neutral digital spaces, where women are protected from online abuse, discrimination, and harassment.
- Only by prioritizing women’s safety and empowerment can technology truly fulfill its potential to advance gender equality in the digital era.
