Facebook says it remains engaged as an open and neutral platform

Social media giant Facebook, which has more than 400 million people using its family of apps in India, said Tuesday it remains committed to being an open, neutral and non-partisan platform.

Facebook, which sees an estimated 2.5 billion people worldwide use Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp apps on a daily basis, has been criticized in the past for its handling of hate speech on the platform in India, which is among its larger markets.

When hundreds of millions of people use our services every day, talk to each other, share their lives, their opinions, their hopes and their experiences, a tiny fraction can be hateful. We recognize that this places a great responsibility on us, a responsibility that we take very seriously, said Ajit Mohan, vice president and general manager of Facebook India.

The company is not complacent on the issue and continues to remain committed to being an open, neutral and non-partisan platform, he added.

We have been part of Indian history since 2006. Our journey started in Hyderabad with just one app with less than 15 million people using it to connect with friends and family. Today we are Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram. Over 400 million people use these apps, he told the Facebook Fuel for India 2020 event.

Mohan said India has placed itself at the heart of a transformation where digital plays a central role in changing lives, creating opportunities and driving innovation and business models. entirely new to the world.

One in two Indians owns a smartphone today, more than half of the population has access to the Internet and data costs are among the lowest in the world. As the largest democracy in the world, with an open and borderless Internet, India’s transformation is one of the greatest hope and possibility, he noted.

“Companies like Meesho and Unacademy, both under 6 years old, show the possibilities of scripting without legacy … we see ourselves in the story of India’s transformation, playing a supporting role , celebrating the rise of India and always looking for opportunities to fuel compelling ideas and bold dreams, he said.