Tuesday, December 7th, 2021
Pushed hatred of minority groups?
Rohingya refugees are suing Facebook
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The Rohingya are exposed to discrimination and oppression in several countries – from the point of view of the Muslim ethnic group, this has to do with Facebook’s algorithm, which promotes disinformation and spreads hatred. A group of refugees is now suing the US company for damages.
Rohingya refugees have sued the US platform Facebook for 150 billion dollars (133 billion euros) in damages. The lawsuit, which was filed in a court in the state of California, said the company’s algorithms promoted disinformation and extremist ideas that lead to violence in the real world. This destroyed the lives of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya people.
“Facebook is like a robot programmed with a single task: to grow,” said the court document. “The undeniable reality is that Facebook’s growth, fueled by hatred, division and misinformation, has left hundreds of thousands of ruined Rohingya lives behind.”
The majority Muslim ethnic group in Myanmar faces widespread discrimination. The Rohingya are seen as invaders, although they have lived in the Asian country for generations. In a military campaign that, according to the UN, amounted to genocide, hundreds of thousands of Rohingya were driven across the border into Bangladesh in 2017. Since then they have been living there in huge refugee camps under precarious conditions. Many Rohingya remaining in Myanmar are exposed to violence and state repression by the ruling military junta.
The lawsuit argues that Facebook’s algorithms trick vulnerable users into joining increasingly extreme groups. This could be “exploited by autocratic politicians and regimes”. Civil rights movements have long accused Facebook of not doing enough to prevent the spread of disinformation and hatred on the internet. The debate recently got a boost from the revelations by former Facebook employee Frances Haugen.
Under US law, Facebook and its parent company Meta are largely protected from liability for content posted by their users. The Rohingya lawsuit, which anticipates this defense, argues that the laws of Myanmar – which do not recognize such a disclaimer – should take precedence in this case.
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