A new report published Thursday in the Wall Street Journal claimed that Telangana Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lawmaker T Raja has been banned from Facebook, following an uproar over his comments amounting to hate speech.
A previous WSJ report had alleged that the social media giant had shown preferential treatment to members of the ruling party by failing to take action against them for posting content that violates the rules of hate speech. He also alleged that Facebook’s public policy executive Ankhi Das had shown his support for the BJP.
“We have banned Raja Singh from Facebook for violating our policy that prohibits those who promote or engage in acts of violence and hatred from having a presence on our platform. The process for evaluating potential violators is extensive and is what led us to our decision to delete your account, ”said a Facebook spokesperson.
The Goshamahal lawmaker could not be reached for comment.
The head of the BJP TI cell, Amit Malviya, did not comment on the specific case of banning Raja from the platform, but said that the determination of hate speech must be made in accordance with the rules and laws of the country.
“What constitutes hate speech in India will be decided by our constitutional framework and the current rules. It should be applied fairly to everyone, regardless of political affiliation. Sonia Gandhi, whose divisive speech was streamed live on Facebook and sparked large-scale riots, deaths and destruction in Delhi recently, is just as guilty as someone else. We cannot have a double standard, ”Malviya said.
Congress and left-wing parties have alleged that social media platforms display a positive bias towards the BJP and have cited the WSJ report to support their claim. Congress wrote twice to Facebook’s CEO Mark Zukerberg, complaining of bias and asking him to specify what steps were being taken to investigate the charges against his India unit.
The opposition party also threatened to take legislative and judicial action to ensure that a foreign company does not create social discord in India. The Trinamool Congress also sent a letter to Facebook claiming that there is sufficient evidence in the public domain to substantiate the allegation of Facebook bias towards the BJP.
Earlier this week, Union Information and Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, in a heavily worded letter to Zukerberg, claimed that the platform is the “latest tool” used to create “internal divisions and social unrest” by groups. created.
The minister said: “I have been informed that in the run-up to the 2019 general election in India, there was a concerted effort by the Indian administration of Facebook to not only remove pages or substantially reduce the scope, but also offer any registration or right of appeal to affected persons who support the Center’s right-wing ideology. I am also aware that dozens of emails written to Facebook management went unanswered. ”
The BJP has criticized its critics for making accusations against it and has also hinted that some FB employees are making efforts to discredit the country’s democratic process.
“Shaping public discourse cannot be the exclusive competence of the left, which has since lost its monopoly and public support. Social networks have democratized the discourse and that is something with which they have not reached an agreement, “said Malviya.
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