Facebook may be summoned over allegations of ignoring hate speeches

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology has said that it would seek Facebook’s response on the allegations that, to protect its India business, the social media giant ignored hate speeches by leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

"The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology would certainly wish to hear from Facebook about these reports and what they propose to do about hate-speech in India," Shashi Tharoor, the committee’s chairperson and senior Congress leader, tweeted on August 16.

Tharoor said that the subject was squarely within the committee's mandate and Facebook had been summoned in the past.

"Our Parliamentary committee will, in the normal course, consider testimony under the topic - Safeguarding citizens’ rights and prevention of misuse of social/online news media platforms," the Congress leader added.

Our Parliamentary committee will, in the normal course, consider testimony under the topic “Safeguarding citizens’ rights & prevention of misuse of social/online news media platforms”. The subject is squarely within the IT Cmt’s mandate& @Facebook has been summoned in the past. https://t.co/saoK8B7VCN

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) August 16, 2020

A report by the Wall Street Journal that sparked the controversy had stated that Facebook’s top public policy executive in India “opposed applying hate-speech rules” to individuals and organisations linked with the ruling BJP.

The article alleged that a top Facebook India official had told staffers to not punish violations by BJP members as it “would damage the company’s business prospects in the country."

Controversy erupted after Congress leader Rahul Gandh hadi shared the article alleging that Facebook and WhatsApp were controlled by the ruling party and their fringe group Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in India.

Rahul shared the newspaper clipping on Twitter and wrote: “BJP and RSS control Facebook and WhatsApp in India. They spread fake news and hatred through it and use it to influence the electorate. Finally, the American media has come out with the truth about Facebook.”

Responding to Gandhi's allegations, Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad tweeted: “You were caught red-handed in alliance with Cambridge Analytica & Facebook to weaponise data before the elections & now have the gall to question us?”

Also read: 'BJP controls Facebook' — Rahul Gandhi attacks Centre citing Wall Street Journal report

There was no immediate comment on the issue by Facebook, for whom India is one of the fastest-growing markets globally with over 340 million users.