Tue 27 October 2020:
Ankhi Das, the Facebook policy chief for India, has resigned her position after months of escalating pressure from activists. In a statement, Facebook said Das was leaving the company to pursue public service.
A statement by Ajit Mohan, Facebook India’s Managing Director, said: “Ankhi has decided to step down from her role in Facebook to pursue her interest in public service. Ankhi was one of our earliest employees in India and played an instrumental role in the growth of the company and its services over the last nine years. She has been a part of my leadership team over the last two years, a role in which she has made enormous contributions. We are grateful for her service and wish her the very best for the future.”
Ms Das’ resignation comes weeks after both the company and she faced questions – both internally from employees and from the Indian government – over how political content is regulated on the popular social media platform, which boasts over 300 million users in the country.
In August, articles by The Wall Street Journal and TIME magazine – alleged Facebook (and messaging service WhatsApp, which it owns) did not apply hate speech rules uniformly. Speeches by BJP leaders that circulated widely on these platforms ahead of the February violence in Delhi were cited.
The Journal also said that an executive – who was later identified as Ms Das – suggested to the company that punishing such violations by BJP workers “would damage (its) business prospects”.
According to a second report by the Journal Ms Das also “made internal postings over several years” detailing her support for the ruling BJP and disparaging its main rival – behaviour some staff saw as conflicting with the company’s pledge to remain neutral in elections around the world.
