Is Facebook working under Congress' pressure, asks Telangana's BJP MLA

In this September 27, 2015 photo PM Narendra Modi hugs Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg at the headquarters in California. PIC/PTI

Controversial Telangana BJP MLA T Raja Singh, banned by Facebook on Thursday over hate content, claimed he had no account with the networking site for over a year and wondered if the social media giant was working under Congress "pressure". He also accused former Congress president Rahul Gandhi of making false statements against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP using social media platforms. Singh, the lone saffron party legislator from the southern state, claimed he did not have a Facebook account since April 2019 and that the pages the social networking site now banned might have been created by his followers.

Under pressure over its handling of hate speech, Facebook on Thursday said it has banned Raja Singh from its platform for violating its policy on content promoting violence and hate.

Reacting to the ban, Singh wanted to know whether the social networking site was working under the Congress party's pressure. He said he had written a letter to Hyderabad Police Cyber Crime department on October 8, 2018 that his official Facebook verified page was hacked. He again started a new page which "was unpublished/deleted in April 2019."

'FB is non-partisan, denounces hate'

Amid a raging controversy, Facebook has told the Congress that it is non-partisan, denounces hate and bigotry in all forms and strives to ensure that its platforms remain a space where people can express themselves freely. Responding to concerns raised by the opposition Congress, Facebook's Public Policy, Trust and Safety Director Neil Potts said that it has taken the party's allegation of bias seriously and will ensure it remains non-partisan.

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