Is It Permissible to Start a Social Network?

Answered by Ustadh Salman Younas

Question: Assalam aleykum

Is it permissible to start a Social Network? If a Muslim chooses to start a Social Network like Youtube is he responsible for sinning if others post videos that are antithetical to Islamic Values?

Answer: assalamu alaykum

Legally speaking, it is permissible for one to start a social network of the type you describe. The exception to this is if the social network is set-up primarily to promote something impermissible, such as a dating network. Otherwise, if it is set-up as a general platform, such as Facebook or Youtube, then it would not be impermissible per se.

However, one should note that there may be a degree of dislikedness in setting up a social network that allows for the displaying of content which is deemed impermissible when one is reasonably able to moderate and restrict it. For example, setting up a social network with no restrictions on the uploading of pornographic material would be extremely problematic even if such content is not being uploaded by others.

For more see: Reader on Assisting in Sin

[Ustadh] Salman Younas

Checked and approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Ustadh Salman Younas graduated from Stony Brook University with a degree in Political Science and Religious Studies. After studying the Islamic sciences online and with local scholars in New York, Ustadh Salman moved to Amman. There he studies Islamic law, legal methodology, belief, hadith methodology, logic, Arabic, and tafsir.