In a letter to Facebook, top US senators urged the social media company to clamp down on anti-Muslim bigotry. The letter, which references India, Myanmar, China and Sri Lanka, was written by Chris Coons, who was tagged by publications like Politico and Reuters as a top pick for the post of US secretary of state in a Biden administration. The letter was signed by Richard Blumenthal, Mazie Hirono, Dick Durbin, Mark Warner, Robert Menendez, Patrick Leahy, Ben Cardin, Michael Bennet, Gary Peters, Amy Klobuchar, Kirsten Gillibrand, Elizabeth Warren, Chris Murphy, and Bernie Sanders.
“Facebook is a groundbreaking company that has revolutionised the way we communicate. Unfortunately, the connectivity that can bring people together in many positive ways also has been used to dehumanise and stoke violence against Muslims, black people, Latinos, immigrants, the Jewish community, Sikhs, Christians, women, and other communities here and across the world,” according to the letter.
The letter specifically mentions India. "Reports indicate that the platform has also been used to support the internment of the Uyghurs in China and other human rights violations against this population, that Facebook and WhatsApp have been used to incite violence against Muslims in India, and that Facebook has been used to promote hate and violence in other areas around the world," the senators wrote in the letter. "Advocacy groups similarly detailed the extent and persistence of anti-Muslim hate content on Facebook India in multiple reports last year, concerns that have been amplified by recent allegations that some high-ranking employees at Facebook India have enabled hate speech against Muslims and others by applying the platform's content moderation policies in a selective manner," wrote the senators.
Of particular concern is how Facebook has addressed the targeting of mosques and Muslim community events by armed protesters through the platform. In June 2019, Facebook responded to concerns about these practices by creating a “call to arms” policy that prohibits event pages that call for individuals to bring weapons to a location. However, the senators note that Facebook has not taken adequate steps to enforce this policy, which should have barred an event page in Kenosha, Wisconsin earlier this year, as well as a 2019 event page used to plan an armed protest at the largest Muslim community convention in the country.
“We recognise that Facebook has announced efforts to address its role in the distribution of anti-Muslim content in some of these areas,” the senators wrote. “Nevertheless, it is not clear that the company is meaningfully better positioned to prevent further human rights abuses and violence against Muslim minorities today. As members of Congress who are deeply disturbed by the proliferation of this hate speech on your platform, we urge you to do more.”
An independent civil rights audit of Facebook from July 2020 highlighted disturbing examples of anti-Muslim abuse on the platform ranging “[f]rom the organization of events designed to intimidate members of the Muslim community at gathering places, to the prevalence of content demonising Islam and Muslims, and the use of Facebook Live during the Christchurch massacre…” These concerns have also prompted current Facebook employees to write a letter demanding action on anti-Muslim bigotry and calling for broader structural changes.
