Social media cannot and should not be regulated, says the founder of a global digital agency.
Akeel Qureshi, who grew up in Silicon Valley and has worked with start-ups across three continents, believes that attempting to regulate social media would prove difficult both practically and politically.
“Who can say what’s acceptable and what isn’t?” he asked. “Even in Europe or here in the UK, I can make fun of the Spanish royal family.
“If I’m in Barcelona the same thing is illegal. How do you say what’s appropriate and what isn’t?
“I’m personally not a fan of guns… but if someone’s a fan of the NRA then they should have the right to have a group that people can join.”
His comments followed an appearance at BusinessCloud’s ‘Social Media: Friend or Foe?’ event.
‘If you run a business and have a Yelp the majority of people with an amazing experience might leave a review but if someone’s had a bad experience they 100% will & social media is the same, but it represents 2% of people,’ says Akeel Qureshi @yellingfore #bcsocialmedia pic.twitter.com/9rkRFrSP5p
— BusinessCloud.co.uk (@BCloudUK) February 27, 2018
The business founder believes that social media moves too quickly to be regulated by any single body, and users should collectively direct the change they want to see.
“Social media changes every day, including the way people deal with things they see on social,” he said.
Qureshi draws a parallel with the introduction of the first commercial car.
“There was a time within human evolution where Ford Model T was introduced. It allowed us to move forward in leaps and bounds,” he said.
“Now, people don’t need that car – they need a hybrid. They realise that there’s still a need for transportation but have a better understanding of the environmental impact.”
Qureshi believes that social media cannot and should not be contained by one body.
“It’s beautifully decentralised and there’s no way we can give any one body power to say what’s acceptable.”