Ankhi Das Facebook Public Policy Director In India Alleges Threat to Life Over ‘BJP Bias’ Filed Complaint

New Delhi: Ankhi Das, Director of Public Policy, India, South and Central Asia for Facebook on Monday, 17 August, filed a complaint at Cyber Cell Unit, Delhi against a number of people for allegedly issuing violent life threats online.

Das, in her complaint, has reportedly identified a few Twitter accounts who according to her issued threats. The complaint by Das comes as she is caught in the eye of a political storm in India over Facebook’s alleged bias towards the BJP in regard to hate-speech, as per an investigation by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ).

The WSJ report, citing current and former employees of Facebook, says that the social media company’s “top public-policy executive in the country, Ankhi Das, opposed applying the hate-speech rules to Mr Singh (controversial BJP MLA T Raja Singh) and at least three other Hindu nationalist individuals and groups flagged internally for promoting or participating in violence.”

Das, according to the report, told staff members that “punishing violations by politicians from Modi’s party would damage the company’s business prospects in the country”. The alleged bias of Facebook against hate speeches by the BJP has led to a political upheaval in India and raised questions on the impartiality of the social media giant.