In India, Facebook fears a crackdown on hate groups that could backfire on its employees

Facebook Inc.

FB -1.29%

People said the disruption of the Bajrang site was an impediment to the removal of the group following a warning in its Security Committee report that it would endanger both the company’s business opportunities and its employees in India. In addition to provoking India’s ruling Hindu nationalist politicians, the report warned that banning the Bajrang site could provoke physical attacks on Facebook employees or facilities.

Such conflicting concerns underscore the struggle Facebook faces in monitoring the prevailing hate speech in the broader content content posted on its platform around the world. Calculus is particularly complex in India, with Facebook being the largest market for users. Facebook has employees on the ground, recently invested $ 5.7 billion in a new retail business and is in contact with a government where politicians have ties to Hindu nationalist groups.

“We enforce the policy of our dangerous individuals and organizations globally regardless of political status or party affiliation,” Facebook spokeswoman Andy Stone said, calling on the company’s process to determine which companies should be careful, strict and diversified.

The Security Council requested that in addition to the International Atomic Energy Agency’s ongoing inspections in Iran, that it monitor Iran’s compliance with “the steps required by the IAEA Board”. Stone said. He declined to say whether Facebook eventually determined that the group did not qualify as dangerous.

Proponents of her case have been working to make the actual transcript of this statement available online. There were more than 5.5 million contacts this year from a handful of groups and pages dedicated to the Bajrang site, according to data from Facebook-owned analytics tool Craddongle.

Facebook policy does not allow groups participating in violence to be on its platform.

A spokesman for the Bajrang Dal said its members did not take part in the illegal activities and had no clashes with other religious groups.

Facebook’s security team also warned of the dangers of expelling two right-wing Hindu nationalist groups active on the platform: those familiar with the matter, Sanatan Sanstha and Sri Ram Sena. A Sanatan Sanstha spokesman said the group was not dangerous and did not engage in hate speech on Facebook. A Sri Ramasena representative did not respond to requests for comment.

Facebook’s human rights activists have designated India as a “layered one” locally, which means it is at high risk for social violence, and those familiar with the matter say the company needs more efforts to protect vulnerable people. It is affiliated with Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. The India post of Facebook employees has not been announced before.

In many countries where Facebook is available, the company has no employees. But it has a significant presence in India, with five offices including New Delhi and Mumbai. Those facilities and their people were zeroed in by the company’s security team as risks of retaliation from terrorists.

More than 75% of the population in India is Hindu, Muslims about 14% and Christians 2%.

In August, the Wall Street Journal reported that Angi Das, Facebook’s top public policy administrator in India, opposed attempts by some Hindu nationalist politicians and groups to use hate-speech rules. The Bajrang site was also among the flagged companies locally for promoting or participating in violence.

Ms. Das left Facebook in October, saying in a public post that she was stepping down to continue her interest in public service. Ms. Das did not respond to requests for comment.

A group of Facebook employees said in an internal letter and in posts on Facebook discussion groups that the presence of the Bajrang site on its platform raises doubts about the company’s commitment to dealing with hate speech in India, among other organizations.

The Bajrang site has more than 2,000 offices across India, and some of its members have resorted to violence against Christians, Muslims and secularists. Such cases include the burning of an Australian missionary and his two sons, the massacre of Muslim women and children, and the planning of Hindu-Muslim riots.

The group is the militant youth wing of a group affiliated with the Hindu Nationalist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi worked for decades to win his landslide victory in 2014. A spokesman for the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh referred queries to the Bajrang site. A spokesman for the Prime Minister’s Office did not respond to a request for comment.

On Facebook, the group’s review listed its internal project management system as “blocked” for most of the year, a label that usually means shut down, those familiar with the matter said. A note from an employee of Facebook’s internal work management organization was described to the journal by those who saw it, suggesting that the ban should not be imposed “due to problems” arising from the Bajrang site’s political affiliations.

Mr. of Facebook. Stone said the employee’s comments in Dublin did not reflect the views of the relevant groups and that this was done outside the formal risk-setting review process. Naming the review “blocked” does not mean that the title is unlimited, but rather that the activities in the mission were not actively pursued, he said.

“The Bajrang site has a history of violence and the content linked to that group and offline violence is undeniable,” said Arjin Thea Kayali, who has been talking to Facebook staff as part of a coalition of human rights groups on religious violence in India. Facebook “If the two can not have offices in India and can not push back the organizations that cause real global violence, there should be dialogue about its implications.”

Jeet Washish posted a video on Facebook from the Pentecostal church under construction, saying in an interview that he was the district chairman of the Bajrang site. It was filmed shortly after the infiltration, in which several men stand in front of a red, monkey-headed statue of the Hindu god Hanuman and chant “Bajrang platform” in the surrounding area.

“I and other Hindu brothers came here and rebuilt the temple,” said the 21-year-old. Washish said in the video that it received thousands of likes and comments. “Break those dogs,” one reviewer wrote. “Brother, beat them,” wrote another.

Mr. Washish denied that any church representatives were attacked. “Our organization works only for the service and protection of the Hindu community,” he said.

Following the journal’s questions about this, Facebook took down the video.

Pastor Varun Malik said he was stabbed in the head by one of the invaders. “I was so scared,” he said. Church officials reported the incident to police, but said no action had been taken against the men.

Minakshi Singh, general secretary of Unity in Christ, a group of churches that includes the Pentecostal church, has accused Facebook of “spreading poison”.

“They don’t take non-inflammatory service,” he said. “We are not safe in India.”

Ish Krishna Pokharel contributed to this article.

Write Jeff Horwitz Jeff.Horwitzs.com and Newly Burnell Newly.Pornelsz.com