E-Paper
INDIA leaders write to Google, Facebook on neutrality during 2024 elections
Fourteen leaders from the opposition INDIA bloc have written to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, urging them to ensure neutrality of operations of their social media platforms.
Fourteen leaders from the opposition INDIA bloc, including Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and NCP chief Sharad Pawar, have written to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, urging them to ensure neutrality of operations of their social media platforms in India ahead of the 2024 general elections and alleged that blatant bias towards one political formation tantamount to interfere in the country’s democracy.
In the letters to Zuckerberg and Pichai, the leaders referred to recent Washington Post reports, and said that Facebook and YouTube are “aiding the communal hatred campaign of the ruling BJP.”
“In another article titled ‘Under India’s pressure, Facebook let propaganda and hate speech thrive’, the Post has elucidated with evidence the blatant partisanship by Facebook India executives towards the ruling dispensation. This was well known to us in the Opposition for a long time and have even raised it several times in the past,” the letter to Zuckerberg said.
Kharge said the Opposition have data that shows “algorithmic moderation and suppression of Opposition leaders’ content on your platform while also promoting ruling party content.”
“Such blatant partisanship and bias towards one political formation by a private foreign company is tantamount to interfering in India’s democracy, one that we in the INDIA alliance will not take lightly,” the letter said. “In light of the upcoming national elections in 2024, it is our earnest and urgent plea to you to consider these facts seriously and ensure immediately that Meta’s operations in India remain neutral and are not used wittingly or unwittingly to cause social unrest or distort India’s much cherished democratic ideals.”
The leaders also reminded Pichai that the US-based newspaper also reported how YouTube awarded a social media influencer who live-streamed his attack on Indian Muslims. “Specifically, the article cites details of how this vile, communally divisive propaganda is carried out using YouTube by BJP members and supporters,” the letter to Pichai said.
Besides Kharge and Pawar, the letters were also signed by senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren, TMC MP Derek O’Brien, JD(U) chief Lalan Singh, DMK’s TR Balu, CPI(M)’s Sitaram Yechury, CPI’s D Raja, NC leader Omar Abdullah and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti.
They also urged Apple to “remain neutral” and not cause social unrest or distort India’s much-cherished democratic ideals wittingly or unwittingly.
