New Delhi: An internal security team at Facebook reportedly issued a warning that if the social media giant classified Bajrang Dal as a “dangerous organization” and banned it from the platform, it could lead to physical attacks on staff or facilities. of the company in India.
According to a news report in The Wall Street Journal, Facebook’s security team concluded earlier this year that Bajrang Dal had “supported violence against minorities in India” and “probably called it a ‘dangerous organization’” that should be banned from posting content on the site. platform.
However, the company declined to do so following warnings it received, through a report from its security team, that such a move could not only “jeopardize” Facebook’s business prospects, but also precipitate attacks. against employees and their offices in India.
“In many countries where Facebook is available, the company has no staff. But it has a significant presence in India, with five offices included in New Delhi and Mumbai. Those facilities and their people are what the company’s security team focused on as potential risks of retaliation by extremists, ”the news report noted.
In response to questions sent by WSJAndy Stone, a Facebook spokesman, said the company enforces its “Dangerous People and Organizations” policy globally without “taking into account political position or party affiliation.”
Stone, however, admitted that the warning given by the company’s security team regarding Bajrang Dal was a “topic of discussion as part of the standard process.”
In addition to Bajrang Dal, the WSJ report, which cites “people familiar with the matter,” also states that Facebook’s security team issued warnings about the risks of “banishing two other right-wing Hindu nationalist groups active on the platform. : Sanatan Sanstha and Sri Ram Sena ”.
No decision was made on Bajrang Dal
Ultimately, it appears that Facebook did not take a final call on whether Bajrang Dal could be considered a “dangerous organization”.
According to the report, an internal review by the Hindu nationalist group has been listed as “locked” within the company’s project management system for most of 2020, a tag that supposedly means “work had stopped” on the affair.
“A note from an employee of Facebook’s internal task management system, described to the Journal by viewers, recommended that a ban not occur ‘due to complexities’ stemming from Bajrang Dal’s political affiliations,” the report said. of the media.
Facebook, however, disputes this and says the employee comments do not “reflect the views of the relevant teams” and were made “outside of the formal dangerous organization review process.”
“He [Stone] said that labeling the review as ‘blocked’ did not mean that the topic was off limits, but that the actions on the task were not being actively carried out, ”the report added.
Facebook’s human rights staff have also internally designated India as a “Level One” country, a classification that implies that it has the “highest risk of social violence” and therefore requires greater efforts from the company. to protect vulnerable populations, according to the WSJ. report.
This labeling places India alongside countries like Myanmar and Pakistan.
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