‘Kill all Muslims, don’t let even one child of the dogs escape’: in Sri Lanka, Facebook struggles to curb hate speech
As Facebook confronts a scandal over data privacy in the United States and Britain, it faces widening criticism in Asia for stoking discord in countries with few legal protections for minorities
With Sri Lanka under a state of emergency after a spasm of anti-Muslim bloodshed, lawyer Jeevanee Kariyawasam went on Facebook to complain. The company hadn’t blocked users inciting violence, she wrote, and the government hadn’t arrested those sending out the offending posts.
Facebook’s response was swift: it suspended Kariyawasam’s account.
The company restored her account within 24 hours but the incident this month highlighted how Facebook has become a powerful vehicle for hate speech worldwide, and how the Silicon Valley giant’s efforts to police incendiary rhetoric in distant countries have often fallen short.
As Facebook confronts a scandal over data privacy in the United States and Britain, it faces widening criticism in Asia for stoking discord in countries with few legal protections for religious, ethnic and political minorities.
When a Sri Lankan Facebook user complained in March of a post that said, “Kill all Muslims, don’t let even one child of the dogs escape,” it took the company six days to respond. Then it said the post did not meet its definition of hate speech.
