Facebook Under Fire in India Over Hate Speech Handling
Facebook is under scrutiny in India for its handling of hate speech on its platform. The Wall Street Journal revealed that the social media giant refused to remove posts by members of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that violated its hate speech rules. Meanwhile, Facebook's Managing Director in India, Ajit Mohan, appeared before the Parliamentary Standing Committee to address concerns about citizen rights and platform misuse.
Facebook's troubles in India began when BJP legislator T Raja Singh's anti-Muslim posts were not removed due to opposition from Ankhi Das, the then Public Policy Director for Facebook India. Singh claims he has not had a Facebook account since April 2019 and that his page was hacked in 2018. However, Facebook banned Singh from its platform in September after facing backlash from Indian opposition parties.
Facebook is now facing a probe from New Delhi's legislative assembly regarding its role in the Delhi riots. The company moved to the Supreme Court seeking exemption from appearing before the legislative assembly, citing appearance before the parliamentary panel. However, it is unclear who led Facebook India from 2015 to 2019, as the search results do not provide this information.
Facebook's Managing Director in India, Ajit Mohan, has denied accusations that the company profits from hate speech in India. He stated that Facebook does not profit from hate speech and that Ankhi Das' team was not involved in decision-making. Despite these denials, Facebook continues to face criticism and investigation for its handling of hate speech on its platform in India.
