Facebook India head tells Tharoor-led panel there's no need to ban Bajrang Dal content

Facebook's India head Ajit Mohan on Wednesday told a parliamentary panel that the social media giant's fact-checking team has not found any content that necessitates a ban on the Bajrang Dal. Mohan deposed before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology, chaired by Congress leader Shashi Tharoor. The panel had called him on the issue of the citizens' data safety.

Mohan was accompanied by Shivnath Thukral, the public policy director of Facebook. Congress MP Karti Chidambaram, along with Tharoor, questioned Mohan about a recent Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report suggesting that the social media giant is reluctant on banning the Bajrang Dal on its platform due to financial reasons and concerns over the safety of its staff, the sources told news agency PTI. 

The WSJ report suggested that despite an internal assessment calling for a ban on the Bajrang Dal, Facebook has not cracked down on the Hindu nationalist group due to these reasons.

Replying to queries, Mohan suggested to the panel members that the Facebook fact team consultant has so far not found any such element in the content posted by the Bajrang Dal that is violative of its social media policies. Further quizzing him, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey asked if the Bajrang Dal content was not found to be violative of its social media policies, then why did Facebook not deny the WSJ report and term it as fake?

'Committed to being open, neutral platform': Facebook India VP

Earlier this week, Facebook, which has over 400 million people using its family of apps in India, said it continues to remain committed to being an open, neutral and non-partisan platform. Facebook, which sees around 2.5 billion people globally use Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp apps daily, has drawn flak in the past for its handling of hate speech on the platform in India, which is among its biggest markets.

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"When hundreds of millions of people use our services every day, talking to each other, sharing their lives, their opinions, their hopes and their experiences, a tiny fraction can be hateful. We recognise that puts a big responsibility on us, one which we take very seriously," Facebook India Vice-President and Managing Director Ajit Mohan said.

"The company is not complacent on the issue and continues to remain committed to being an open, neutral and non-partisan platform," he added. "We've been a part of India story since 2006. Our journey began in Hyderabad with just one app with less than 15 million people using it to connect with friends and family. Today, we are Facebook and WhatsApp and Instagram. More than 400 million people use these apps," he said at the Facebook Fuel for India 2020 event.

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(With PTI inputs)