Facebook, its hate speech policies and everything else you need to know

Facebook has been walking the thin line between hate speech and freedom of expression; but as expression becomes more egregious, this is becoming a bad look. The report by The Wall Street Journal claimed that Facebook’s top public policy executive in India, Ankhi Das, “opposed applying hate-speech rules” to at least four individuals and groups linked with the BJP, despite being “flagged internally for promoting or participating in violence.” Facebook employees reportedly found that the account of one of the individuals – Telangana BJP MLA T Raja Singh – should have been banned under a policy called “Dangerous Individuals and Organisations”. We enforce these policies globally without regard to anyone’s political position, party affiliation or religious and cultural belief.” The Facebook India head indicates that T Raja Singh’s posts did not violate its Community Standards. While Facebook took a different stance in India, instances of “Dangerous Individuals and Organisations” aren’t new to the platform. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that his company’s approach has “distinguished us from some of the other tech companies in terms of being stronger on free expression and giving people a voice.” Facebook’s policies are its own While Facebook and its CEO Mark Zuckerberg have pledged on various occasions to address the various policy concerns with the company, the promise of accountability is just that: a promise.