Myanmar groups welcome FB’s move to block hate speech

WASHINGTON/ YANGON: Myanmar civil society groups welcomed a commitment by Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg to tackle hate speech within 24 hours as the social media giant fights messages inciting violence, but urged it to deploy more resources in the country.

Zuckerberg said on Tuesday his company would step up efforts to block hate messages in Myanmar as he faced questioning by the US Congress about electoral interference and hate speech on the platform.

Facebook has been accused by human rights advocates of not doing enough to weed out hate messages on its social media network in Myanmar, where it has become a near-ubiquitous communications tool following the opening up of the economy.

In an e-mail, the representatives of several civil society groups in Myanmar hailed the 24-hour timeline as “historic”, but said Facebook had failed to set up an effective mechanism in the country for swifter detection and removal of threatening posts.

“This is a historic commitment from Facebook to a 24-hour review time, and one we have been begging for,” Yangon-based social media analyst Victoire Rio said on Wednesday.

“It is still unclear how they intend to demonstrate they are meeting these targets ...

This is a historic commitment from Facebook to a 24-hour review time, and one we have been begging for. Victoire Rio

We will continue to monitor them,” said Rio, who was involved in an e-mail exchange between Zuckerberg and civil society groups in Myanmar regarding Facebook’s effectiveness in detecting and curbing hate speech.

Nearly 700,000 Rohingya have fled Myanmar’s Rakhine state and crossed into Bangladesh since insurgent attacks sparked a security crackdown last August, the United Nations and aid agencies have said.

The United Nations and the United States described the situation as ethnic cleansing, an accusation Myanmar denies.

“What’s happening in Myanmar is a terrible tragedy, and we need to do more,” Zuckerberg said during a five-hour joint hearing of the Senate Commerce Committee and Senate Judiciary Committee. — Reuters