Facebook’s ties to India’s ruling party complicate its fight against hate speech

Post by [deleted] » Sat, Aug 29, 2020, 3:24 PM UTC

luckylion wrote: post #30

wtmt wrote: post #10

This can only be solved when more and more people understand the threats not just for the present, but for the future. What Facebook and WhatsApp have enabled are convenient and useful for those in power. So while there may probably be some words here and there, we can’t expect a lot of change on the ground. Disappointingly, the Indian Supreme Court is also lethargic and chooses to look at more trivial matters than g…

> What Facebook and WhatsApp have enabled are convenient and useful for those in power. I'm sure they are, but are they more useful than what was before? Facebook & Co have some random element, it's not a one-way-communication device like classic media (TV, radio, newspapers) are/were. The government has much less control over Facebook. You can't just go in and take it over like you could with a radio station, you ca…

Post by ashleshbiradar » Sat, Aug 29, 2020, 3:34 PM UTC

zozbot234 wrote: post #24

indogooner wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ideally they should have some morality to put basic human rights and safety above profits. Even from long term perspective if they continue to ignore hate speech against Islam on their platform I am sure they would lose a lot of users.

'Islam' is not a monolithic block, and we shouldn't represent it as such. Most hate speech against Muslims or varieties of Islam comes from Islamist fundamentalists and radicals themselves, not anyone with ties to any "ruling party" in India or in the Western world.

Post by dontcarethrow2 » Sat, Aug 29, 2020, 3:45 PM UTC

claudeganon wrote: post #16

pkphilip wrote: post #8

Facebook's actions in India are absolutely despicable. The head of policy at Facebook in India is a radicalized member of the Indian rightwing and recently put up a post stating that Muslims are a "degenerate community" and was forced to apologise just a couple of days ago because of pressure on FB from their employees. She gave a half hearted apology. Facebook should have immediately suspended her or sacked her: htt…

I don’t think people have realized that Zuckerberg’s intent is to be the Rupert Murdoch of the 21st century. He’s no ally of liberal society or democracy.

Post by [deleted] » Sat, Aug 29, 2020, 3:57 PM UTC

envy2 wrote: post #18

ashleshbiradar wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Whatsapp is also used extensively to share misinformation and hateful content, fueling mob violence and hate, especially targetting the minorities across the country. https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2018/09/whats... besides that, the ruling party actively uses whatsapp for political reasons, with it's infamous "It Cell" known for manufacturing fake news. https://theprint.in/politics/9500-it-cell-heads-…

So, I completely understand the concerns about moderation on Facebook itself. But what would you actually have anyone do about WhatsApp? It's an end-to-end encrypted messaging app, and the whole purpose of end-to-end encryption (which, last I checked, HN was generally in favour of) is that there is no way to surveil or moderate the content of someone's communications.

Post by ffpip » Sat, Aug 29, 2020, 4:18 PM UTC

indogooner wrote: post #14

ffpip wrote: post #3

India is a very lucrative market for FB and other companies. 1 billion people, 2 billion eyes. No privacy laws, can easily share and sell data, govt is in the hands of Reliance (in which FB, Google and others are all investing a lot), most Indians are just getting used to the vast internet and are easily tricked.

Ideally they should have some morality to put basic human rights and safety above profits. Even from long term perspective if they continue to ignore hate speech against Islam on their platform I am sure they would lose a lot of users.