Meta Releases First Human Rights Report

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Meta Releases First Human Rights Report
15 Jul 2022
6 min read

News Synopsis

On Thursday, Facebook-owner Meta released its first annual human rights report, following years of accusations that it ignored online abuses that fueled real-world violence in places like India and Myanmar. The report, which covers due diligence performed in 2020 and 2021, includes a summary of a contentious human rights impact assessment of India conducted by law firm Foley Hoag on Meta's behalf.

Human rights organisations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have called for the full release of the India assessment, accusing Meta of stalling. According to Meta's summary, the law firm "noted the potential for Meta's platforms to be linked to salient human rights risks caused by third parties," such as "advocacy of hatred that incites hostility, discrimination, and violence."

It went on to say that the evaluation did not cover "accusations of bias in content moderation." For years, human rights organizations have raised concerns about anti-Muslim hate speech in India, Meta's largest market by number of users.

Its top public policy executive in India stepped down in 2020 following Wall Street Journal reporting that she opposed applying the company's rules to Hindu nationalist figures flagged internally for promoting violence.

 

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