Facebook, founded by Mark Zuckerberg, faces accusations for allowing hate speech
New Delhi:
Congress has written to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, this is the opposition party’s second this fortnight, for details on steps being taken to investigate allegations that the social media giant does not enforce incitement rules. to hate the posts of BJP members.
“We urge you to let us know what steps your company plans to take to investigate these matters … you will also take legislative and judicial action in India to ensure that a foreign company cannot continue to cause social discord in our nation to pursue private benefits.” the letter said.
The Secretary General of Congress, KC Venugopal, stated that the party was “forced to write again … due to new revelations that were made public in another article of another publication of renowned and credible US media”, one alleged ” quid-pro-quo relationship “between Facebook India and the ruling BJP.
Referring to an article in TIME magazine, which party deputy Rahul Gandhi tweeted today, stating that it “exposes (the) WhatsApp-BJP nexus,” Congress claimed that the BJP had “allowed to exercise control of WhatsApp operations in India in exchange for a possible license for its payment operations. “
The letter also stated that “more than one person on the leadership team of his company in India is biased and partisan in favor of the ruling BJP in his professional endeavors.”
On Saturday afternoon, Gandhi tweeted the TIME article with the message: “America’s Time magazine exposes the nexus between WhatsApp and BJP: used by 40 crore Indians, WhatsApp also wants to be used to make payments for which the Modi government approval. Therefore, BJP has a wait on WhatsApp. “
America’s Time magazine exposes the nexus between WhatsApp and BJP:
Used by Indians 40 Cr, WhatsApp also wants to be used to make payments for which Modi Govt approval is needed.
Therefore, BJP has control over WhatsApp.https: //t.co/ahkBD2o1WI
– Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) August 29, 2020
A fortnight ago, Gandhi also shared a Wall Street Journal article that Facebook allegedly did not apply the rules of hate speech to posts by BJP members. The Journal reported that an executive at the social media giant said that punishing violations by BJP workers “would hurt (their) business prospects.”
In its report, TIME magazine noted that WhatsApp (which is owned by Facebook) has “considerable” business prospects in India, where around 400 million people use the messaging service.
Facebook has said that it enforces hate speech policies without regard to political affiliation.
WhatsApp is also implementing a digital payment service, WhatsApp Pay, in India, for which it needs authorization from the central government led by BJP.
Last month, consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) and Associated Chambers of Commerce (Assocham) said that by 2023, India’s share of a $ 12.4 trillion digital payments market would be $ 135.2 billion.
TIME magazine also wrote that both Facebook and WhatsApp are used to “spread hate speech and misinformation … (and have been) accused of helping incite deadly attacks against minority groups.”
The article referred to a January video by BJP leader Kapil Mishra, in which he can be seen giving an ultimatum to the Delhi police: remove anti-CAA (Citizenship Amendment Law) protesters from the areas. from Jaffrabad and Chandbagh from the city or face the consequences.
Hours later, violence broke out in the national capital, violence that lasted almost a week and left more than 50 dead and hundreds injured.
TIME magazine reported that while that particular video was removed (it violated Facebook’s rules on incitement to violence), a second version remained online for six months, something another congressional deputy, Karti Chidambaram, noted today.
Video of BJP’s Kapil Mishra giving a speech before Facebook eliminated violence in Delhi
The use of WhatsApp to organize strikes was also mentioned during police investigations into the violence in both Delhi and the city’s Jawaharlal Nehru University, which left 34 injured.
Facebook India is already scheduled to appear before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology, which is chaired by Congressional MP Shashi Tharoor, on September 2 to answer questions raised by the Journal article.
Congress has demanded a temporary ban on approvals given to WhatsApp for its digital payment operations. The party also referred to a senior Facebook executive, who is now in charge of public policy for WhatsApp India, and asked if his appointment had influenced its hate speech policies.
TIME magazine quoted unidentified activists as saying that the executive is “too close to the BJP,” noting that he worked with the BJP to help in their 2014 election campaign.
The TIME report quoted Facebook as acknowledging this concern but noting that the executive’s previous job did not present a conflict of interest in his current role; in which, according to the report, it manages Facebook’s relationship with the Modi government.
Meanwhile, a Reuters report claims the social media giant is facing internal questions, from employees, about how political content is regulated in India, its biggest market.
An open letter to Facebook’s leadership by 11 employees (which has been seen by Reuters) demands that company leaders recognize and denounce “anti-Muslim bigotry” and ensure greater policy coherence.
A Facebook source was quoted in that Reuters report as saying that the company’s leadership in India would have to answer tough questions about what actually happened.
Facebook, both in response to the Journal article and previous criticism, has said it is working to combat hate speech; it has said it enforces hate speech policies “without regard to anyone’s party affiliation.”
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