Amnesty International said in a report on Thursday that Facebook should pay hundreds of thousands of Rohingyas forced from their homes in Myanmar in a campaign largely fueled by online hate speech.
The Rohingya, a predominantly Muslim minority, were targeted by Myanmar’s military rulers in 2017 and taken to neighboring Bangladesh, where they have been living in refugee camps ever since.
Victims’ unions and rights advocates say the violence was exacerbated by Facebook’s algorithms, saying they play extremist content that encourages harmful propaganda and hate speech.
Amnesty said in its report, “Many Rohingya tried to report anti-Rohingya content through Facebook’s ‘report’ function, but to no avail,” allowing these hateful narratives to spread and reach unprecedented audiences “
It noted the disclosure of whistle-blower “Facebook Papers” in October 2021, indicating that company executives were aware that the site promoted the spread of toxic content against ethnic minorities and other groups.
Three legal suits have been filed against Facebook by Rohingya representatives in the US and UK as well as with the OECD group of developed economies under its Guidelines for Responsible Business Conduct.
In the US complaint, filed last December in the home state of California, Facebook and its parent company Meta, the refugees are seeking $150 billion (about Rs 12,27,000 crore) in damages.
“META’s refusal to compensate Rohingya victims – even where the community’s modest requests represent crumbs from the company’s massive profits table – just adds to the impression that this is a company that is not working on its human rights impacts. completely different from reality,” Amnesty said.
The NGO urged Facebook to “proactively do human rights due diligence” on its platforms, but also called on national authorities to increase their surveillance.
“It is imperative that states fulfill their obligation to protect human rights by introducing effective legislation to rein in surveillance-based business models in the technology sector.”
Facebook has vowed to reform its corporate values and operations in response to pressure to crack down on false information, particularly in relation to politics and elections.
The company has partnered with several media companies, including AFP, to verify posts online and remove untruths.
