Parliamentary committee on IT to examine FB on manipulation of hate content

New Delhi, Aug 17 (IANS) Amid the controversy on social media platform Facebook and WhatsApp, the Standing Committee on Information and technology will examine the Facebook to seek the detail of manipulation of content.

The Chairman of the Committee Shashi Tharoor has said in a tweet: “The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology would certainly wish to hear from Facebook about these reports & what they propose to do about hate-speech in India.”

The office of the Congress MP said that the Chairman of the Committee has said,

“Our Parliamentary committee will, in the normal course, consider testimony under the topic ‘Safeguarding citizens’ rights & prevention of misuse of social/online news media platforms. The subject is squarely within the IT Committee mandate and Facebook has been summoned in the past.”

The Congress has accused the BJP and the RSS of controlling Facebook and WhatsApp in India. The Congress on Sunday alleged that the two had attacked democracy in the country and demanded a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into alleged violations by the social media platform and its messaging service.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday tweeted: “BJP and RSS control Facebook and WhatsApp in India. They spread fake news and hatred through it and use it to influence the electorate.

“Finally, the American media has come out with the truth about Facebook.”

Addressing a virtual press conference, Congress spokesperson and former Union Minister Ajay Maken said on Sunday: “There are 40 crore Indians on WhatsApp and over 28 crore on Facebook. So, a probe is necessary into the commercial dealings, propagation of hate content, and connection of Facebook and WhatsApp employees with the BJP.”

To the allegation, the Union Minister and a senior face of the ruling BJP Ravi Shankar Prasad had hit out at Rahul Gandhi. Prasad tweeted, “Losers who cannot influence people even in their own party keep cribbing that the entire world is controlled by BJP & RSS”. He also dug up the controversial issue of Cambridge Analytica to make his point.

–IANS

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