International Research Journal of Education and Technology

 The exponential rise of social media platforms has significantly reshaped modern communication, social interaction, and information dissemination. While these platforms offer users unprecedented connectivity and convenience, they also rely heavily on large-scale data collection, monitoring, and analysis of user behavior, resulting in widespread social media surveillance. This surveillance is enabled through technologies such as cookies, tracking pixels, artificial intelligence, facial recognition, and algorithmic profiling, often operating beyond the full awareness of users.

This paper examines the concept of cyber ethics in the era of social media surveillance, focusing on critical ethical concerns, including privacy invasion, lack of informed consent, data ownership, algorithmic bias, and the balance between security and individual freedoms. It examines how personal data is collected, processed, and monetized by social media companies, as well as how governments may access such data for law enforcement and national security purposes. The study highlights the ethical dilemmas arising from excessive monitoring, data misuse, and the potential manipulation of user behavior and public opinion.

By analyzing existing ethical principles, legal frameworks, and the responsibilities of key stakeholders social media platforms, governments, and users this paper emphasizes the urgent need for transparent data practices, stronger regulatory mechanisms, and ethical-by-design technologies. The paper concludes that promoting cyber ethics, enhancing digital literacy, and enforcing robust data protection policies are essential to safeguarding digital rights and ensuring responsible use of social media technologies in an increasingly surveillance-driven digital society.