(a) In the present digital age, social media has revolutionised our way of communication and interaction. However, it has raised several ethical issues and challenges. Describe the key ethical dilemmas in this regard. (b) “Constitutional morality is not a natural sentiment but a product of civil education and adherance of the rule of law.” Examine the significance of constitutional morality for public servant highlighting the role in promoting good governance and ensuring accountability in public administration.
Approach · directive: “describe / examine”
What it asks · (a) Set out the core ethical tensions social media creates for users, platforms and the State; (b) explain constitutional morality and show how it helps public servants govern well and answer for their actions.
The question has 2 parts — answer each
- (a) Describe the key ethical dilemmas that social media raises for users, platforms and the State
- (b) Examine the significance of constitutional morality for a public servant, highlighting its role in promoting good governance and ensuring accountability in public administration
Open with · (a) Social media has made every user a publisher and a few platforms the gatekeepers of debate; (b) Ambedkar told the Constituent Assembly that constitutional morality is not a natural sentiment and has to be cultivated.
Cover
- (a) Free expression vs harm: hate speech, trolling and incitement — and who decides what comes down: platforms, the State or users?
- (a) Privacy vs connectivity: data harvesting, profiling and surveillance, with consent that is rarely informed.
- (a) Truth vs virality: misinformation and deepfakes outrun corrections; algorithms reward outrage over accuracy.
- (a) Well-being and identity: addiction and self-image pressure among the young, cyber-bullying; anonymity that shields dissent but also abuse.
- (b) Meaning: fidelity to the Constitution’s values — rule of law, dignity, equality, liberty, fraternity — above personal, partisan or majoritarian preference.
- (b) For the public servant: guides discretion where rules are silent, resists unlawful orders, protects the weakest, follows due process under pressure.
- (b) Governance and accountability: reasoned, transparent decisions, respect for RTI and judicial review; cultivated through training, codes of conduct and leadership by example.
Close with · Both parts ask for internalised restraint: digital literacy for citizens and the Constitution's values as the officer's compass, cultivated through civic education and value-based training.
Add value (verified)
- The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 states the privacy dilemma in its own long title — individual rights versus lawful processing of data. The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (No. 22 of 2023), MeitY ↗“An Act to provide for the processing of digital personal data in a manner that recognises both the right of individuals to protect their personal data and the need to process such personal data for lawful purposes”
- Ambedkar, moving the Draft Constitution on 4 November 1948, quoted the historian Grote: constitutional morality is 'a paramount reverence for the forms of the Constitution' joined to open speech and censure of authority. Constituent Assembly Debates, Vol. VII, 4 November 1948 (Dr B.R. Ambedkar) — sansad.in ↗“By constitutional morality Grote meant "a paramount reverence for the forms of the Constitution, enforcing obedience to authority acting under and within these forms yet combined with the habit of open speech, of action subject only to definite legal control, and unrestrained censure of those very authorities as to all their public acts”
- The Supreme Court struck down Section 66A of the IT Act in Shreya Singhal v. Union of India (order of 24 March 2015). Information Technology Act, 2000 (updated), footnote to Section 66A — India Code ↗“Section 66A has been struck down by Supreme Court’s Order dated 24th March, 2015 in the Shreya Singhal vs. Union of India, AIR 2015 SC. 1523.”
- Mill's harm principle (On Liberty, 1859), as quoted by the Supreme Court in Puttaswamy (2017): power may be used against an individual's will only to prevent harm to others. Justice K.S. Puttaswamy (Retd.) v. Union of India, judgment of 24 August 2017 — Supreme Court of India ↗“thesis “On Liberty”, John Stuart Mill, as far back as in 1859, had this to say: “…. the sole end for which mankind are warranted, individually or collectively, in interfering with the liberty of action of any of their number, is self- protection. That the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilised community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others.”
- Puttaswamy (2017): privacy is an intrinsic part of the right to life and personal liberty under Article 21. Justice K.S. Puttaswamy (Retd.) v. Union of India, judgment of 24 August 2017 — Supreme Court of India ↗“(iii) The right to privacy is protected as an intrinsic part of the right to life and personal liberty under Article 21 and as a part of the freedoms guaranteed by Part III of the Constitution.”
- All India Services (Conduct) Rules, Rule 3(2B): every member shall commit himself to and uphold the supremacy of the Constitution and democratic values. All India Services (Conduct) Rules, 1968, Rule 3(2B) — Tripura High Court (thc.nic.in) ↗“(i) commit himself to and uphold the supremacy of the Constitution and democratic values; (ii) defend and uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of State, public order, decency and morality; (iii) maintain integrity in public service;”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2025, GS Paper IV — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer · 424 words (UPSC limit 150) · Minimalist IAS
Social media has made every user a publisher and a few private platforms the gatekeepers of public debate. The Constitution, in turn, asks every public servant to be its guardian. Both need a restraint that, as Ambedkar warned the Constituent Assembly, is not a natural sentiment and has to be cultivated.
(a) Key ethical dilemmas of social media
| Value | Collides with | Seen in |
|---|---|---|
| Free expression | Protection from harm | Hate speech, trolling |
| Connectivity | Privacy | Profiling, data harvesting |
| Virality | Truth | Deepfakes, misinformation |
- Free speech vs harm: Mill's harm principle permits power over an individual only "to prevent harm to others". But who judges harm: platform, State or user? In Shreya Singhal (2015) the Supreme Court struck down Section 66A of the IT Act, a reminder that curbs on speech must be precise.
- Privacy vs connectivity: free services are paid for with attention and data, on consent rarely informed. Puttaswamy (2017) made privacy an intrinsic part of Article 21; the DPDP Act, 2023 balances the right to protect personal data against lawful processing.
- Truth vs virality: engagement-driven algorithms reward outrage over accuracy; deepfakes outrun every correction.
- Well-being vs engagement: addictive design, cyber-bullying and self-image pressure fall hardest on adolescents.
- Anonymity: it shields whistle-blowers and dissent, but also abuse and impersonation.
- Private power: platforms moderate public speech as unelected gatekeepers, with opaque rules and little answerability.
(b) Constitutional morality: why it matters for the public servant
- Meaning: fidelity to the Constitution's values (rule of law, equality, liberty, dignity, fraternity) above personal, partisan or majority preference. On 4 November 1948 Ambedkar borrowed Grote's definition: "a paramount reverence for the forms of the Constitution", joined to open speech and censure of authority.
- Cultivated, not innate: as the statement says, it grows through civic education and daily adherence to the rule of law.
- Legal anchor: the All India Services (Conduct) Rules require every member to "commit himself to and uphold the supremacy of the Constitution and democratic values".
- Good governance: it guides discretion where rules are silent, keeps decisions reasoned, non-arbitrary and impartial, and protects the weakest even against popular pressure.
- Accountability: reasons recorded on file, respect for judicial review, RTI and legislative scrutiny; unlawful orders refused through lawful channels, not obeyed silently.
- Cultivation in practice: case-based ethics training, codes of conduct, and seniors who model the values.
Both parts ask for internalised restraint: citizens who pause before they post, and officers whose compass is the Constitution rather than the crowd's mood. Digital literacy from school and value-based training of civil servants can cultivate what Ambedkar knew does not come naturally.
Written by Minimalist IAS from facts checked at source (how we verify) — a little fuller than exam length, so every part of the question is covered; in the hall, keep the structure and trim the detail. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.