Rohingya sue Facebook for $150bn over Myanmar hate speech

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• Dec 7, 2021 | moderator

Digital Desk: Several refugees of Rohingya in the United States and the United Kingdom have sued Facebook for $150bn over Myanmar hate speech. They have accused the social media platform of allowing hate speech against them to spread.

These refugees are demanding more than $150bn (£113bn) in compensation, alleging Facebook's platforms promoted violence against the oppressed minority.

The complaint, filed in a California court, stated the algorithms that power the US-based company promote disinformation and extreme thought that translates into real-world violence.

"Facebook is like a robot programmed with a singular mission: to expand. The undeniable reality is that Facebook's growth, fueled by hate, division, and misinformation, has left hundreds of thousands of devastated Rohingya lives in its wake." the court document stated.

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As per estimated data, around 10,000 Rohingya Muslims were killed during a military crackdown in Buddhist-majority Myanmar in 2017. But, Facebook, now called Meta, did not immediately react to the charges.

Therefore, the company is accused of allowing "the propagation of hateful and dangerous misinformation to last for years."

In the US, lawyers filed a legal complaint against Facebook in San Francisco, citing being "willing to trade the lives of the Rohingya people for better market penetration in a small nation in Southeast Asia."

Moreover, Facebook admitted in 2018 that it had not done enough to stop the provocation of violence and hate speech against the Rohingya.