The Delhi Legislative Assembly’s committee on Peace and Harmony has received multiple complaints addressed to its Chairman Raghav Chadha underscoring the alleged instances of intentional and deliberate inaction by Facebook officials against hateful content in India out of vested interests.
The complainants have also requested the Committee to interfere and ask Facebook to enforce its policies against inflammatory and hateful contents and alleged larger conspiracy involving said social media platform, with respect to the certain information obtained from the news report published by The Wall Street Journal on August 14.
“It is alleged in the complaints that the Facebook, despite its comprehensive policies and regulations on curbing unabated dissemination of hateful and offensive content, has been turning a blind eye to mass manufacturing and propagation of vile, hateful communal content which are not only bad in taste but have potential to erupt violence and riot like situation,” the Committee said in a statement.
“It is imperative to mention here that the conception of this committee was very much induced by the alleged horrific remarks irresponsibly made by the BJP leader in Delhi, earlier this year which invoked violent agitation and then reportedly grievously led to the communal riots in Delhi,” it said.
Significantly, the same leader has been mentioned in the Wall Street Article, as another hate-monger spared by Facebook, it said.
The committee aimed at clamping down these instances leading to communal violence in order to ensure public safety and infuse peace and harmony in the city and country since its inception.
Interestingly, in a video featuring Mark Zuckerberg, quoted the contents of that person’s post as categorically offensive and hateful, it said, adding that in view thereof, it compels the committee to take immediate notice and get to the root of this issue with a view to painstakingly discern if there is any role or complicity of Facebook official too in the orchestration of Delhi riots.
With a view to sub serve its fundamental objective and rationale to maintain peace and harmony across Delhi and obviate any attempt or overtures by the vested interests to create disruption or engender communal disharmony across Delhi, the Committee has decided to delve into the issue and apprehend any devious conspiracy and unholy nexus of rabble- rousers with oblique motives to wreak havoc in the country and more particularly in the NCT of Delhi by disturbing peace and tranquility as well as instigating intense communal disharmony, it said.
The committee after vetting the complaints and giving a careful deliberation upon the allegations set out therein is of the prima facie view that the allegations against the concerned Facebook officials are extremely serious in nature which if remain unchecked and unhindered may lead to serious adverse fallouts, having thereby the dubious distinction to intensify an already volatile and vulnerable situation.
In view thereof, the committee took prompt cognizance of the issue, pursuant to which the committee in order to discern the veracity of complainants and allegations set out in the complaint has sent the notice for appearance to certain independent and expert witnesses as well as complainants to ensure their presence before the committee for participating in the relevant proceedings, it added.
