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.
BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, reacting to Tharoor's comments, said the subjects which were permissible and were in accordance with rules of the parliamentary standing committees could be raised. But, at the same time, he added that these panels should not be made a political platform by members to satisfy the "ego of their respective party leaders".

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.