Indian Govt Starts Investigating Facebook, Its Algo & Content Moderation Process

Once again, the Social media giant, Facebook has come under the radar of the Indian government.

It seems that the Indian government has reportedly started a probe after documents were leaked by whistleblower Frances Haugen.

Why Would This Happen?

Earlier she revealed alleged discrepancies in algorithmic recommendations.

Basically, the revealed documents served as evidence for Facebook’s dubious tactics such as inaction against misinformation and hate speech despite assuring the public of strong action.

Apart from this, it also appears that the company was aware of the harmful mental impact of Instagram on young girls.

Indian Government Taking Action

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has sent a letter to Ajit Mohan, Facebook India’s managing director (MD) seeking information from the American tech giant on the processes followed by it to moderate content on its platform, as per the reports.

Along with that, the ministry has also asked for information about the methods employed to prevent harm to online users.

Alarming Experiment

Earlier, the investigation commenced due to the allegations that Facebook’s systems can fuel hate speech and promote fake news.

The government was alarmed by the ‘India experiment’, where a dummy user’s feed was filled with hate speech and fake news just three weeks after opening a new account on the platform, according to the information provided by the sources.

In response, “The government has asked for information about the algorithm that Facebook is using for content moderation and how they are preventing online harms, which are being caused by this kind of content,”.

Now, the government is further expected to investigate the case based on the company’s response. 

There is also a possibility that executives from the company may be called to explain how their algorithm works.

Apart from this, “The government has also questioned Facebook on the due diligence that is prescribed under the IT Rules and how they prevent harm,” said the sources.