Facebook employees call for more policy consistency in India

Facebook employees are questioning the social media network's internal policy, according to a report from Reuters, over several events involving its public policy director for India, Anhki Das.

Das had opposed applying the company’s hate-speech rules to a member of the ruling party in India, the BJP, who had in posts called Muslims traitors, according to a Wall Street Journal report.  

Facebook employees are said to be raising questions about whether adequate procedures and content regulation practices were being followed by the India team. An open letter written to Facebook’s leadership by 11 employees on an internal platform (which Reuters claimed it had seen) called for more policy consistency and demanded company leaders denounce "anti-Muslim bigotry".

Meanwhile, Das filed a complaint with the Delhi Police's Cyber Cell against journalist Awesh Tiwari, state bureau chief of Swaraj Express, on 16 August stating that he and other social media users were threatening her, making "sexually coloured remarks" and defaming her.

The Committee to Protect Journalists followed up on 19 August by stating that Das should withdraw her criminal complaint against Tiwari and respect citizens’ rights to criticise her.