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    India seeks info on tech, processes used by Facebook

    Synopsis

    The missive follows recent revelations by Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen that have "alarmed" the government, specifically with regard to the India experiment, where a dummy user's feed was filled with fake news and hate speech.

    Facebook India
    India, with over 530 million users, according to government data, is the largest market in terms of users for Facebook.
    New Delhi: India has begun a probe seeking details about the algorithms being used by Facebook, following revelations alleging that the social media giant’s systems can fuel hate speech and fake news, people in the know of developments told ET.

    On Tuesday, the Ministry of Electronics and IT ( MeitY) shot off a letter to Facebook India’s managing director Ajit Mohan seeking information on the processes followed by the American Big Tech company to moderate content on its platform and the methods employed to prevent harm to online users, the sources said. The missive follows recent revelations by whistle blower Frances Haugen that have “ “alarmed” the government, specifically with regard to the so-called India experiment, where a dummy user’s feed was filled with fake news and hate speech within three weeks of opening an account, they added.

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    Haugen’s revelations have also flagged promotion of violent and provocative posts, especially anti-Muslim content on the Facebook India platform.

    “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,” said one person cited above.

    “They ( Facebook) should prevent harmful content from showing on anyone’s feed or wall,” said the person, adding that based on the company’s response, the government will “further investigate”.

    “ The government has to probe how their ( Facebook’s)systems currently work and how they plan to reform or change it,” sources said.

    Facebook declined comment to ET’s queries on the development.

    ET had reported on Monday that privacy experts and civil society are calling on the Indian government to seek more algorithmic accountability from Facebook in the light of the recent revelations.

    The government can demand such information exercising India’s sovereign power and the legal framework of the IT Rules and the IT Act, which prescribe due diligence, those in the know told ET.

    India’s newly notified IT Rules under the IT Act prescribe “due diligence” for platforms with regard to content which is “is grossly harmful… hateful, or racially, ethnically objectionable… or otherwise unlawful in any manner whatever” under the Rule 3.

    “The government has also questioned Facebook on the due diligence that is prescribed under the IT Rules and how they prevent harm…” people aware of the issue said.

    U.S. lawmakers investigating how Facebook Inc. and other online platforms shape users’ world views are considering new rules for the artificial intelligence programs blamed for spreading malicious content, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.

    Poor Oversight
    Haugen, a former data scientist at Facebook, alleged earlier this month that the social media giant allocates only 13% of its budget to curb misinformation on its platform outside of the US, including in India, where it has its largest user base, citing internal documents of the company.

    India, with over 530 million users — according to government data — is the largest market in terms of users for Facebook. In contrast, the US has around 200 million users and gets a disproportionate 87% allocation in its budget to curb misinformation.

    “Facebook has admitted, after the documents were leaked, that (its)platforms are not working as per the way they are supposed to, so Indian government is asking them what they are doing to prevent harm” , sources in the know of the matter told ET.

    Profits Over Safety
    Facebook, which owns the largest instant messaging platform WhatsApp and popular photo sharing app Instagram, has been under fire after a whistle-blower made public a series of documents now dubbed as ‘Facebook Papers’.

    The social media network has been accused of putting profit ahead of user safety, including that of children, along with fuelling fake news and hate speech through its platform. Haugen has submitted the papers to the US SEC and has also deposed before the US Senate and the UK Parliament.

    In her latest expose, Haugen has alleged that in February 2019, Facebook had set up a test account in India to determine how its own algorithms work. The test, which shocked even the company staffers, showed that within three weeks, the new user’s feed was flooded with fake news and provocative images including those of beheadings, doctored images of Indian air strikes against Pakistan and bloodied scenes of violence.

    The report titled “An Indian test user’s descent into a sea of polarizing, nationalist messages” further builds on previous exposes on how little Facebook – which counts India as its largest market in terms of users – has done to control inciteful and inflammatory content especially in regional languages.

    Earlier this month, Nick Clegg, Facebook's vice president of global affairs, said that Facebook’s algorithms "should be held to account, if necessary, by regulation so that people can match what our systems say they're supposed to do from what actually happens."

    He has also reportedly said that Facebook is open to the government changing a 1996 provision of US law that insulates companies from liability for what users post.

    ET has reported previously that the Indian government is mulling a "rethink" of the safe harbour framework which is enjoyed by the social media platforms and thinks that the "blanket exemption" given to companies has to go in order to address these mounting issues.
    The Economic Times

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