Congress writes to FB, asks it to probe functioning of India unit
Congress writes to FB, asks it to probe functioning of India unit
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New Delhi: Mark Zuckerberg has been requested by Congress to initiate an internal investigation into the functioning of Facebook's India branch.
The party claimed that Facebook India is biassed towards the "ruling dispensation" in a letter to the CEO of Facebook Inc – renamed Meta Platforms – despite its "proclivity" for disseminating hate speech, misinformation, fake news, and inflammatory content.
Following a Wall Street Journal report that the company's Policy Director for India, South and Central Asia, Ankhi Das, had opposed applying 'hate-speech rules' to four individuals and groups linked to the BJP despite being flagged internally for promoting or participating in violence, Congress wrote to Zuckerberg twice last year, questioning the neutrality of Facebook's India team.
Das left the firm in October of last year.
Congress social media department head Rohan Gupta drew Zuckerberg's attention to "apparent and evident bias that your company has shown in our country towards the ruling dispensation despite their proclivity for sharing hate speech, misinformation, fake news, and inflammatory content on your platform" in the latest letter from India's main Opposition party.
"Over the previous two years, an abundance of information has been disclosed that indicates to your company's incompetence in policing hate speech and intentionally ignoring internal records voicing concerns about the same issues," Gupta said. Not only have your staff pointed out that your platform's AI is insufficient for detecting vernacular languages, but your team here has also failed to build up basic keyword recognition for problematic content."
Over the previous two years, Gupta claims that Facebook's "cost-cutting approach to hate review" has resulted in a "dramatic and quick growth in such content."
"With over 370 million users, India is one of your major markets, and it is incredibly terrible that your firm continues to prioritise its business interests over the lives and safety of your customers." "I highly encourage you to launch an internal investigation into Facebook India's operations and make the results public," he added.
The Congress renewed its call for an investigation of Facebook India's actions by a Joint Parliamentary Committee.
