On Tuesday, a Delhi legislative group warned Facebook Inc. that the company could face a lawsuit over hate speech, after their head of the Indian branch failed to show up for a hearing.
And again Facebook causes an avalanche of negativity
A Delhi state Assembly Committee has summoned Facebook’s managing Director in India, Ajit Mohan, to respond to allegations that the social media giant failed to properly apply rules and policies in preventing hate speech, leading to violence that killed 50 people.
The jury asked Mohan to appear on another day, chief justice Raghav Chadha told Reuters.
“If we fail to appear, we will be forced to use our powers to bring a privilege infringement case against the Facebook India division,” he said.
It turned out that Facebook also has privileges.
FB response to a request for comment
In a letter to Chadha, the company said it shared the group’s concerns and took steps to curb the spread of hate speech on its platforms.
The Indian Federal Parliament is already dealing with the issue, so the state body should drop the case, according to a September 13 letter seen by Reuters.
“Given that the issues raised in the Department (Commission) are related to a subject within the exclusive competence of the Union of India, and that these issues are actively considered by the Parliament, we respectfully object to the Notification and ask you to withdraw it,” the letter added.
Earlier this month, Mohan spoke for more than two hours before the parliamentary information technology group, answering questions about the social network’s content policy.
B. N. Srikrishna, a former Supreme court judge, said the Delhi Assembly has the right to imprison anyone it finds guilty of violating privileges.
Facebook is facing serious political scrutiny in India, its largest user market, after it was revealed last month that a top Executive at the company opposed the application of hate speech rules to a politician from Prime Minister Narendra modi’s party.
Recall that the world’s largest social network is under close political control in India, its largest market by users, after the Wall Street Journal reported in August that one of its employees opposed the application of hate speech rules against a politician from the ruling party of Prime Minister Narendra modi.
Facebook India has since said it is an unbiased platform and banned the Bharatiya Janata party for violating its policies. But both politicians and employees have questioned its content methods.
Despite the comprehensive policies and regulations, the nine-member group said it had received several complaints about Facebook.
On September 2, the parliamentary group on information technologies met with the leaders of the social network. Their conversation lasted more than two hours to discuss content regulation, after they were invited to the talks.
