Facebook has been embroiled in a major controversy in India, following a Wall Street Journal investigation that reported that Facebook refused to take down hate speech made by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members for the fear of hurting its business interests in India. Facebook India's public policy team has since attracted considerable attention and criticism. The team, led by Ankhi Das, had chosen to ignore hate speech by Raja Singh, a BJP MLA from Telangana, and other party leaders. It suggested that Facebook might be taking political considerations into account while applying hate speech rules to prominent Hindu nationalists in India. Opposition parties, including the Congress and All India Trinamool Congress (TMC), have since called for an investigation into Facebook India leadership. On Tuesday, the Congress wrote to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, asking for a high-level enquiry and the subsequent report to be made public. Mahua Moitra, a TMC MP and a member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology, too demanded answers from Facebook. This is, however, not the first time Facebook has gotten itself in trouble with a government. Over its 16-year-long existence, the company has attracted the attention of many a country for its actions and, equally importantly, their inaction. For instance, Facebook has been questioned for its role in the persecution of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar, where the platform was widely used to spread hatred against the minority community. In the United States of America, it has been subject to government scrutiny over issues such as…
