The Congress on Monday demanded from the Centre the suspension of pending approvals and licences of Facebook and Whatsapp and announced that it will raise the matter in the Parliament’s upcoming Monsoon Session.
The party claimed that in a span of just two weeks, three separate articles in credible international media publications have revealed how Facebook and WhatsApp have colluded with the ruling BJP to tarnish India’s democracy and tear India’s social harmony.
Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Choudhary said the issue is an example of Digital Ãmperialism’ by the social media.
“There was a time when the Britishers were an imperialist power, now we are going to witness digital imperialism where social media will run amok in our country,” Choudhary said at AICC Press briefing. He was joined by AICC social media experts Praveen Chakraborty who head the party Data Department and Rohan Gupta Chairman of Social Media, AICC.
He said he will be raising the issue in the floor of the House in the upcoming monsoon session of the Parliament. “But there cannot be a discussion if the Government doesn’t allow it, and if their intention is to save the Facebook then they will do so”, he added.
“This is the tip of the iceberg, Facebook India executives and their top bosses in the US are hand in glove,” he alleged.
Sharpening its attack against the social media giant Facebook and its popular messaging service Whatsapp, the Congress has already demanded that a Joint Parliamentary Committee investigation should be ordered immediately and also a criminal investigation into the affairs of Facebook India and the people named should be carried out.
The party demanded that all pending approvals and licenses for Facebook and WhatsApp be put on hold until the investigations are completed and suspension of Facebook India’s leadership team with immediate effect until the conclusion of the investigations.
It also said that an inquiry by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology into the activities of all Heads of Public Policy teams of foreign technology companies operating in India and establishing a code of conduct should be held.
Adhir Ranjan alleged that in the IT Standing Committee Chairman Shashi Tharoor had said that Facebook officials will be summoned, but BJP members have tried best to stall it since they are in majority in the committee.
Adhir Ranjan Choudhary said, “Skeletons from Facebook India’s cupboard are tumbling out faster than our monsoon rains.”
“The article reveals how despite questions raised by other employees in Facebook India and the company’s claims of neutrality, Ankhi Das, Head of Facebook India’s public policy team and her leadership team were arrogant and blatant in their biases,” he added. a