Delhi riots: Facebook India officials to appear before Delhi assembly today

NEW DELHI: Facebook India’s Public Policy Director Shivnath Thukral and Director (Legal) GV Anand Bhushan will have to appear before the Delhi Assembly‘s Committee on Peace and Harmony today (November 18) in connection with Delhi riots 2020. The panel had issued summons to Facebook India to clarify its stand on the role of social media in preventing the spread of false and malicious messages that affect peace.
In an official letter, Thukral wrote, “We again thank you for the opportunity to appear before the Committee on Peace and Harmony (“Committee”) to provide our views to assist the Committee in its ‘aims to recommend preventative and remedial measures concerning issues of governance, social cohesion, unity, brotherhood and peace’ and ‘to strengthen overall social and economic development’ through communal harmony. Facebook shares the Committee’s aim to improve harmony among religious communities, linguistic communities, and social groups.”
In February 2020, violence took place in the northeast area of Delhi between groups supporting and opposing the Citizenship Amendment Act. Meta Inc, Facebook’s parent company has been accused of not doing enough in order to prevent the dissemination of misinformation on its platform. Following the riots, the Peace and Harmony Committee (Committee) was constituted by the Delhi Legislative Assembly to probe the Delhi riots of February 2020.