Facebook Faces Challenges in Upholding its Ideals in India
Three years ago, Facebook uncovered a large-scale social media influence operation that supported the Indian army’s actions in Kashmir and targeted Kashmiri journalists. Shockingly, this network was operated by the Indian army’s Chinar Corps, stationed in the Muslim-majority Kashmir Valley. When Facebook’s Coordinated Inauthentic Behavior (CIB) unit suggested deleting the network’s pages, the New Delhi office resisted due to concerns about the Indian government’s response. The unit’s objections resulted in a year-long stalemate until top Facebook executives intervened and ordered the deletion of the fake accounts. This internal battle strained the CIB team and almost led to several employees quitting.
Facebook’s struggles in managing content in India are not restricted to the Kashmir case. The platform has been accused of favoring Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and failing to take action against harmful content spread by BJP politicians. Despite India being a critical market for Facebook’s international growth, the company’s cautious approach to moderating pro-government content has come under scrutiny. Employees responsible for combatting fake accounts and propaganda have often clashed with Indian executives who were hired for their political experience and held views aligned with the BJP’s.
Internal documents and interviews with employees indicate that Facebook executives frequently avoided penalizing the BJP or associated accounts, even in cases where leaders openly called for violence against Muslims. In 2019, Facebook’s parent company, Meta, hired an external law firm to examine its handling of human rights issues in India following media reports and whistleblower disclosures. The investigation found that Facebook did not adequately address hate speech and calls to violence that preceded a deadly religious riot in Delhi in 2020. However, Meta chose not to publish the full document and limited executive access to it, instead emphasizing the role of “third parties” in its public summary.
This cautious approach to content moderation in India has wide-ranging implications for social media platforms. Silicon Valley executives have observed that the Modi administration is establishing a precedent for authoritarian governments to dictate what content American platforms must preserve or remove. Brazil, Nigeria, and Turkey have followed suit, with their leaders attempting to restrict social networks’ ability to remove posts. The international community sees India as a vital market, especially as the United States’ user numbers plateau. However, weaknesses in India’s judicial protections and the geopolitical importance of the country have complicated the tech industry’s relationship with Indian regulators.
Facebook’s experience with the Chinar Corps network highlights the challenges faced by tech companies operating in India. This incident reflects a pattern observed by Silicon Valley executives from multiple companies, who have noticed a rise in authoritarian governments pressuring social media platforms to comply with their demands. The success of India’s government in influencing internet companies has inspired other countries, such as Brazil, Nigeria, and Turkey, to adopt a similar approach. The ability of governments to directly pressure tech companies raises important questions about free speech and regulation in the digital age.
As Facebook continues to navigate these challenges, it must find a balance between upholding its professed ideals and complying with local regulations and political pressures. The case of India serves as a warning to social media platforms worldwide, as governments increasingly seek to influence and control online content.
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