New Delhi: Facebook, that is at the centre of a political slugfest over allegations of supporting the ruling dispensation said Monday its social media platform prohibits hate speech and content that incites violence. These policies are enforced globally without regard to political affiliation. However, social media giant Facebook – which counts India among its largest markets globally – also acknowledged that ‘there is more to do’.
“We prohibit hate speech and content that incites violence. We enforce these policies globally. We don’t take into account anyone’s political position or party affiliation. We know there is more to do. So we’re making progress on enforcement. We also conduct regular audits of our process to ensure fairness and accuracy,” a Facebook spokesperson said in a statement.
The comments came as the ruling BJP and opposition Congress traded barbs over Facebook’s alleged bias. A media report in the United States has also mentioned that the social media giant ignored hate speech and objectionable content from leaders and workers of the BJP.
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BJP has accused the social media giant of censoring nationalist voices. The opposition Congress has seized on a ‘Wall Street Journal’ report that alleged that Facebook’s content policies favour the ruling party. The ‘Wall Street Journal’ has said Facebook ignores cases of hate speech and objectionable content from BJP leaders and workers. The article has been titled: ‘Facebook Hate-Speech Rules Collide With Indian Politics’.
The ‘Journal’ also said an executive of Facebook had earlier stated punishing violations by BJP workers ‘would damage the company’s business prospects in India’. Quoting current and former employees, the article said Facebook has a ‘broader pattern of favouritism’ towards the BJP.
Agencies