I.N.D.I.A Bloc Demands Neutrality from Facebook and Google During Upcoming Lok Sabha Elections
13-10-2023 : The I.N.D.I.A bloc, a coalition of opposition parties, has sent letters to the CEOs of Meta, Mark Zuckerberg, and Google, Sundar Pichai, expressing their concerns and demanding platform neutrality during the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in 2024. The bloc made an “earnest and urgent plea” to these tech giants, urging them to take their concerns seriously and ensure that their operations in India remain neutral.
The letters address their protest against what they perceive as “vile, communally divisive propaganda” propagated by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, and YouTube. The I.N.D.I.A bloc warns that they will not tolerate the “blatant partisanship and bias” displayed by these platforms, which they believe amounts to interference in India’s democracy by private foreign companies.
The opposition parties cite recent reports in The Washington Post that have raised concerns about Meta’s WhatsApp and Facebook allegedly assisting the BJP in promoting communal hatred and Google’s YouTube propagating communal hatred and dividing Indian society. They argue that the exhaustive investigation by the newspaper points to Alphabet, Google’s parent company, and YouTube as being responsible for abetting social disharmony and inciting communal hatred in India.
The letters also accuse these platforms of algorithmic moderation and suppression of content from opposition leaders while promoting content from the ruling party, further exacerbating concerns about bias.
Letter by INDIA parties to @Facebook‘s Mr. Mark Zuckerberg (@finkd) citing the exhaustive investigations by the @washingtonpost that Meta is culpable of abetting social disharmony and inciting communal hatred in India.
[Letter Below] pic.twitter.com/2wnUa5xHbz
— Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) October 12, 2023
In light of the Lok Sabha elections scheduled for 2024, the I.N.D.I.A bloc urgently appeals to Meta and Google to ensure that their operations in India remain neutral and do not contribute, knowingly or unknowingly, to social unrest or distort India’s democratic ideals, which are deeply cherished.
The letters acknowledge the irony of their timing, coinciding with the birth month anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, the champion of non-violence and social harmony. The I.N.D.I.A bloc expresses confidence that these platforms aspire to contribute to a harmonious India, in alignment with the ideals upheld by Mahatma Gandhi.
The letters, signed by Congress General Secretary (Organisation) K C Venugopal on behalf of the bloc, represent 14 opposition leaders, including prominent figures from various political parties such as Rahul Gandhi, Sharad Pawar, Uddhav Thackeray, and others. These leaders collectively voice their concerns about the role of social media platforms in influencing the democratic processes in India.
