Ravi Shankar Prasad writes to Mark Zuckerberg accusing Facebook of bias amid content dispute

Among other allegations, the minister in his letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg (above) also alleged that Facebook employees had abused the prime minister and high-level cabinet ministers while working at Facebook India and holding positions important. (Reuters / File Image)

The ongoing controversy over Facebook’s alleged political bias took a new turn on Tuesday after Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad wrote to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg raising his “ serious concerns ” about the topic.

In his letter, the minister addressed the issue of removing some pages and posts on Facebook, saying that those affected by the Facebook India bias had no right to appeal.

Among other accusations, the minister alleged that Facebook employees had abused the prime minister and cabinet ministers while working at Facebook India and occupying important positions.

I was informed that in the run-up to 2019 LS Polls, FB India made a concerted effort to not only remove pages or substantially reduce their scope, but also offer no right of appeal to affected individuals who support the center’s ideology right: Union Min RS Prasad to the CEO of FB. pic.twitter.com/bmyUppp7nz

– ANI (@ANI) September 1, 2020

His letter comes at a time when the Congressional party and opposition leaders such as Rahul Gandhi have accused Facebook and WhatsApp of interference in India’s internal affairs, democracy and social harmony. Rahul Gandhi has also demanded an investigation into the accusations against Facebook.

The parliamentary committee will meet on Wednesday where opposition parties are likely to raise the issue of Facebook India’s alleged bias, amid reports of alleged bias among its top management in India.

Full text of the letter from Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg:

Dear Mr. Mark Zuckerberg:

Greetings from India!

At a time when we are all collectively fighting a global pandemic, let me share my best wishes for you and the well-being of your family members.

I am writing this letter to raise serious concerns, some of which we have also raised with senior Facebook officials in the past.

I have often heard you and your senior management talk about the general benefits of connectivity, and more specifically, in the context of your products to the global community. Facebook’s stated mission is to give people the power to build communities and bring the world closer together. The global scale achieved by Facebook group products makes it one of the main drivers behind this goal of achieving connected communities around the world.

However, what we have seen in recent months works against the achievement of the goals set by Facebook.

I was informed that in the run-up to the 2019 general election in India, there was a concerted effort by the administration of Facebook India to not only remove pages or substantially reduce their scope, but also to offer no recourse or right of appeal to the affected people who support them of the ideology of the center-right. I am also aware that dozens of emails written to Facebook management received no response. The cases of bias and inaction documented above are apparently a direct result of the dominant political beliefs of the individuals on her Facebook India team.

As a transnational digital platform, Facebook should not only be fair and neutral, but also visibly seen as such, for users of various beliefs and ideologies. People working in any organization may have their individual likes or dislikes, but that should not have no relationship. on public policies and the performance of the organization. According to credible media reports, the Facebook India team, from the Managing Director of India to other senior officials, is dominated by people who belong to a particular political belief. People of this political predisposition have been overwhelmingly defeated by the people of in successive free and fair elections. Having lost all democratic legitimacy, they are trying to discredit India’s democratic process by dominating the decision-making apparatus of major social media platforms. Facebook is the last tool in your arsenal to control internal divisions and social unrest.

It is problematic when Facebook employees officially abuse India’s prime minister and senior ministers while still working at Facebook India and managing important positions. It is doubly problematic when the bias of individuals becomes an inherent bias of the platform. And it is unacceptable when people’s political biases affect the freedom of expression of millions of people.

However, looking at recent media reports, it appears that these deep-rooted vested interests are not satisfied with the shrinking space for one side of the spectrum in India and want to strangle it entirely. The flood of recent anonymous source-based reports is nothing more than an internal power struggle within your company for ideological hegemony.

No other logic can explain how the facts are being manipulated by selective leaks within your company to try to portray an alternate reality. This interference in the Indian political process through gossip, whispering and innuendo is reprehensible. This collusion of a group of Facebook employees with the international media is giving way to malevolent vested interests to slander the democratic process of our great democracy.

I would like to point out that there have also been several cases recently where Facebook has been used by anarchic and radical elements whose sole aim is to destroy social order, recruit people and rally them for violence. However, we have not yet seen any significant action against those elements. Is this action also held back by the same vested interest groups that have incentives to fuel political violence and instability in India?

A major problem with Facebook is outsourcing fact-checking to third-party fact-checkers. How can Facebook exempt itself from its responsibility to protect users from misinformation and instead outsource this to shady organizations without credibility? We have seen in India that from evaluators to built-in fact checkers to fact checkers themselves harbor publicly expressed political biases Always vigilant volunteers on social media have to check the facts! Even after bringing in so many fact-checkers, a lot of misinformation related to COVID-19 and its aftermath went unchecked. How can an organization like Facebook ignore these realities?

A transnational digital platform with a broad user base also cannot remain immune to local sensitivities. Certain act that may be acceptable according to the social norms of a secular country, but many do not lead to the social norms of another country. The Facebook Community Guidelines must recognize and respect this aspect of diversity. To respect the social, religious, cultural and linguistic diversity of India, Facebook must implement Country-specific Community Guidelines.

Facebook has been a novel experiment to democratize people’s expression and provide a platform for millions of ordinary citizens to freely express their views, connect, build communities, associate and communicate. I hope you know that this experiment should not be hijacked by a pressure group that abhors free speech and tries to impose a world view and rejects diversity.

I wish you and your family the best of health.

Sincerely,

Ravi Shankar Prasad