Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday alleged a reported “nexus between big companies, social media and the Government” and accused social media giants of “spreading venom and disinformation” to “hack democracy”.
Speaking in the Lok Sabha during Zero Hour submission, the Congress leader said “global social media companies are not providing level playing field to all political parties” and quoted American publication Wall Street Journal to drive home her point that the “ruling party was being favoured” by the social media.
“There is a rising danger of social media being abused to hack our democracy. Global companies like Facebook and Twitter are used increasingly to shape political narratives by leaders, parties, and their proxies,” said the Opposition leader.
Sonia urged the Government “to put an end to the systematic interference of Facebook and other social media in the electoral politics.
“We need to prevent our democracy and social harmony regardless of who is in power,” she said.
The Congress president also referred to an Al Jazeera report that has claimed that Facebook carried advertisements promoting the BJP or discrediting Opposition...
...parties during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls with an aim to increase the ruling party’s visibility on social media platforms, bypassing the law.
“Global companies such as Facebook and Twitter are being increasingly used to shape political narratives by leaders, political parties and their proxies,” said Sonia in her long submission during the Zero Hours. There were no interruptions from the Treasury Benches.
She also referred to a report published in the Al Jazeera and The Reporters’ Collective claiming that Facebook had offered BJP cheaper deals for election advertisements as compared to other political parties.
“These reports show a growing nexus between big corporations, the ruling establishment, and global social media giants like Facebook,” said the Congress leader.
Sonia said young and old minds are being “filled with hate” through emotionally charged disinformation, and proxy advertising companies like Facebook are profiting from it.
Speaker Om Birla briefly interrupted Congress leader to ask as what was her central query.
Later, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, who is a member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology, reacted sharply to the Congress leader, saying it was the Congress that “throttled” freedom of expression - “whether in Kashmir or during the Emergency”.
“The Congress party wants people to forget the history of Kashmir... On what basis Ghulam Mohammad Shah was made the (Jammu & Kashmir) Chief Minister and for what reason there was so much problem in Kashmir. It is still not decided whether Facebook and Twitter are considered publishers or intermediaries. Today when Yasin Malik, who has killed officers of Indian Air Force, is seen with Manmohan Singh in a photo, there is an attempt to suppress it,” Dubey said.
Also, he urged Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to set up a committee to examine and present a white paper on how freedom of expression was curbed during the Congress rule.
“Who brought 66A in the RTI Act to curb freedom of expression? What was Nehru’s role during the 1962 war? Who has given Tibet? They want people to forget the 1962, Kashmir atrocities. It is not yet decided whether Facebook is a publisher or intermediary, but there is a need for a white paper on how Congress crushed freedom of expression,” said Dubey.
Congress leaders’ sharp strike on the Modi Government came a day after Prime Minister hit out at critics of “The Kashmir Files” and wondered as to why a similar film was not made on the 1975 Emergency and blamed the “the eco-system” for not allowing facts to come out on major events during the past regimes.