The Congress on Friday wrote to Facebook, demanding an internal inquiry into the functioning of its unit in India. At a press conference held to highlight the issue, the party also demanded a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) probe into alleged manipulation of elections by the US tech company.
India is one of the biggest markets for Facebook with the largest number of users. Congress party's social media president Rohan Gupta said, "It is extremely unfortunate that your company favors its commercial interests over the lives and safety of its users."
Mr. Gupta urged Mr. Zuckerberg to conduct an internal inquiry into the functioning of Facebook India and release the findings to the public. “It is your responsibility as the head of this organization to hold those responsible for betraying our people accountable for their actions,” he stated.
He alleged that Facebook was used as weapon by the BJP to spread hate in India. “There is an attempt to attack the unity of our country and everyone has to understand this and fight it together,” he added.
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Parveen Chakravarty, who heads the AICC Technology and Data cell, said this issue is very serious and everyone has to fight it together.
“The world’s largest democracy is being manipulated by an American tech company. This is not any more about the Congress or the BJP, it is about India and Indians. It is about the sanctity of our democracy. Are we going to accept this kind of control of our society? It’s time for us to come together and resist this,” Mr. Chakravarty observed.
This is not the first
time Congress has written a letter to Facebook. Last year, the Grand
Old Party wrote twice to Mark Zuckerberg questioning the company's neutrality.