Facebook replies to Cong, says it enforces policies without any political bias

New Delhi: In a significant development, Facebook has sent a written response to queries raised by the Congress party in the backdrop of a growing controversy over allegations of political collusion and approach to hate content. Facebook in its formal response has said that it maintains a non-partisan approach to content and that it enforces policies “without regard for anyone’s past political positions, party affiliation, or beliefs”.

The move is interesting because there is a growing pressure on Facebook, particularly political, to be more transparent and swifter in its actions. The social media platform has come under intense scrutiny and its representatives had appeared at a meeting of parliamentary panel on information technology (IT) on Wednesday evening.

“First and foremost, we want to take this opportunity to state that we are non-partisan and strive to ensure that our platforms remain a space where people can express themselves freely. We take allegations of bias seriously and want to make clear that we denounce hate and bigotry in all forms,” Neil Potts, public policy director at Facebook, who oversees its trust and safety policy team, said in a letter addressed to Congress’ general secretary in-charge K.C. Venugopal. A copy of the letter, which is dated Tuesday, was shared by the Congress party on Thursday.