A Delhi panel quizzed Facebook India officials today about hate posts in connection with the capital’s riots in February 2020. The social media powerhouse was pressed for information on its public policy team and board of directors’ religious ties.
The company that now goes by the corporate name “Meta” faced difficult questions in a live-streamed session about the religious background of its employees in India and the company’s policy on hateful posts.
“What are the religious affiliations of persons working at Facebook India?” asked Raghav Chaddha, the leader of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), who also chairs the Delhi Assembly Committee on Peace and Harmony.
Facebook India’s Public Policy Director, Shivnath Thukral, responded that the firm has 300 workers in India, with roughly 20 in the policy team. “We don’t keep information on the amount of religious minority personnel because the legislation of the land forbids it,” Mr. Thukral explained to the panel.
Mr. Chaddha then requested that Facebook submit details on the composition of the public policy team and board of directors based on religion and shareholding pattern at the next hearing.
The Delhi panel on hate posts has requested Facebook to submit all user complaints received from a month before the riots to two months after the disturbances, as well as the actions are taken. “Hatred causes us harm. We don’t want anyone to be offended by our platform. Neither of these things is desirable to our marketers. We’re working on it all the time “Facebook stated.
“I’m not sure whether hate affects you because you’re a company and the virality of hate posts brings you cash,” the AAP leader said.
The committee wanted to know if Facebook has a definition for hate speech in India.
Mr. Thukral stated, “Without giving a specific response to the topic,” “We must strike a balance between freedom of expression and safety. We have incorporated caste in hate speech in the Indian context based on the inputs “.
Officials utilized their prerogative to not answer a specific question on whether India has a hate speech policy.
During the peak of Covid, Mr. Thukral mentioned that consumers used Facebook to report oxygen demands.
“This year alone, $5 billion has been spent on safety and security. We are aware of the situation and take it seriously. With hatred, I don’t sleep well “he stated
Facebook was also questioned on how quickly it responded to complaints about posts.
“Complaints are acknowledged within 24 hours, and if the information violates policy, it is removed promptly,” Mr. Thukral said.
During the Delhi riots, he was asked to provide information on posts that were removed for breaking policy. Officials from Facebook have declined to reveal the specifics, claiming a Supreme Court order that it is a Law and Order matter.
To a question whether the platform files any complaint with the law enforcement agencies for violative content, Mr. Thukral responded “We remove violative content and are not a law enforcement agency. We don’t file any complaint to any agency,”.
The panel also asked Facebook India to clarify its perspective on social media’s role in stopping the spread of misleading and provocative statements that threaten peace. Over 50 people were killed and 200 were injured during a three-day riot in Delhi over the CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) demonstrations.
