Facebook asked the Delhi Assembly panel to withdraw the call.
New Delhi:
Facebook executives today skipped a hearing by the Delhi Assembly “Peace and Harmony” committee saying they have already appeared before a parliamentary panel. The panel, upset by the response, said it would deliver “a final warning” to the social media giant for the absence.
A written response from Facebook officials came amid the committee’s hearing at the Delhi assembly. He said officials had already deposed before the deputies committee earlier this month and since parliament took up the matter, the Delhi Assembly committee should withdraw its subpoena.
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Raghav Chaddha, who heads the committee, criticized what he called “insult and contempt” of the Delhi Assembly by Facebook officials. Facebook’s claim was a “misreading,” panel members said, insisting that the committee was within its right to convene Facebook executives.
“This is a Delhi issue, how can Facebook say that it is not the domain of this committee? Facebook’s statement that parliament is dealing with the matter is unsustainable. The state legislature operates independently of parliament. Its refusal to Appearing before this committee is an attempt to conceal (Facebook’s) role in the Delhi riots, “the committee said.
Raghav Chaddha said that new calls will be issued to Facebook executives in accordance with the principles of natural justice. If they did not comply with the new subpoena, the members said, “they should be compelled to appear through coercive actions.”
The Delhi Assembly panel on Peace and Harmony decided to convene Facebook officials while investigating complaints about alleged “deliberate and willful inaction of the social networking site to contain hateful content” in India.
US media reports recently cited interviews with anonymous Facebook insiders to allege that the rules against hate speech were not applied in the case of incendiary posts by BJP leaders and right-wing activists.
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