Company Faces Scrutiny In India Where Hate Speech Flourished
October 28, 2021—The backlash against Facebook’s policies continued to make waves internationally this week. But even as the trove of internal documents leaked by whistleblower Frances Haugen reached more journalists, none of that showed up on the company’s balance sheet.
Strong Profits
This week the social networking site declared strong earnings growth and a larger user base. According to the company’s reporting, the platform’s daily active users increased by a solid 6 percent, year over year, reaching close to 2 billion people. Furthermore, the company’s revenue increased 35 percent, from $21 billion in 2020 to $29 billion in 2021. Also, its net profits increased 17 percent, from $7.8 billion to $9.2 billion in the same time period.
In testimony to Congress earlier this month, Haugen accused the company of putting profits ahead of people. Interest in regulating the industry is soaring, and lawmakers have introduced a series of bills to do so.
Social Media Dynamics
During a conference call with reporters and investors this week, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the company “experience revenue headwinds” over the quarter with strong user growth. He also addressed a question on the company’s handling of hate speech and misinformation.
Zuckerberg said Facebook is very much focused and proactive in handling misinformation and hate speech across its global offices.
“I’m proud of our record navigating the complex tradeoffs involved in operating services at a global scale,
and I’m proud of the research and transparency we bring to our work,” Zuckerberg said. “Our programs are industry-leading. We have made massive investments in safety and security with more than 40,000 people and
we are on track to spend more than $5 billion on safety and security in 2021.”
Regulation Needed, Zuckerberg Says
The CEO also pointed out that the company cannot make changes alone. He is asking lawmakers to provide regulations.
“It makes a good soundbite to say that we don’t solve these impossible trade-offs because we’re just focused on making money. But the reality is these questions are not primarily about our business but about balancing different difficult social values. And I repeatedly called for regulations to provide clarity because I don’t think companies should be making so many of these decisions ourselves,” Zuckerberg said.
Tackling challenges worldwide
Last month, ex-Facebook employee Frances Haugen exposed several documents that revealed the social media giant’s questionable marketing strategies and ideologies.
And now, reports from the Associated Press point to evidence obtained from leaked internal documents that Facebook India has been “selective in curbing hate speech and misinformation” thereby paving the way to possible communal violence and protests.
The article reports, “The files show that Facebook has been aware of the problems for years, raising questions over whether it has done enough to address these issues. Many critics and digital experts say it has failed to do so, especially in cases where members of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, the BJP, are involved.”
Tensions in India Boil Over Online
AP also reports that from research as recent as March of this year to company memos that date back to 2019, the internal company documents on India highlight Facebook’s constant struggles in quashing abusive content on its platforms in the world’s biggest democracy and the company’s largest growth market. Communal and religious tensions in India have a history of boiling over on social media and stoking violence.
According to a Reuters report, in an undated document, which a person familiar with the disclosures said was from 2021, Facebook employees also shared examples of “fear-mongering, anti-Muslim narratives” spread on the site in India, including calls to oust the large minority Muslim population there.
An ‘Ally’ To BJP Party
In reaction to the new documents and to previous reports, the opposition party in India is calling for a Joint Parliamentary Committee investigation into the company’s practices. According to reporting by the Indian Express, Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera alleged that Facebook executives in India are acting as an “all-weather ally” to the ruling BJP. Those people complaining say hate speech proliferated and promoted violence.
Language Barriers to Protecting People
“Our lack of Hindi and Bengali classifiers means much of this content is never flagged or actioned,” the document said.
Internal posts and comments by employees this year also noted the lack of classifiers in the Urdu and Pashto languages to screen problematic content posted by users in Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan.
Just as the January 6 US Capitol riots in Washington DC were linked to spread of misinformation and inciteful content on social media, the leaked documents also point to several violent outbursts linked to anti-Muslim propaganda across India.
Not just a ‘Facebook’ issue
With the company’s policies being debated, Zuckerberg pointed out that problems raised reflect societal issues rather than just practices of a single company.
“The reality is if social media is not the main driver of these issues, then it probably can’t fix them by itself either. We should want every other company in our industry to make the investment and achieve the results that we have. I worry about the incentives that we are creating for other companies to be as introspective as we have been. But I am committed to continuing this work because I believe it will be better for our community and our business over the long term,” Zuckerberg said.
Overall, as Zuckerberg and Facebook executives reported on the company’s earnings and future plans in talks with top investors, they steered clear of these weighty issues of responsibility. The forward-looking CEO focused on plans for investing in the metaverse and other innovations, leaving aside the question of responsibility and regulation to others.
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