Arafat: Facebook must address bias or face consequences in Bangladesh

State Minister for Information and Broadcasting Mohammad A Arafat warned that Facebook in Bangladesh could face consequences if Meta’s biased reports are not addressed.

The ruling Awami League leader expressed concern about the recent action of Meta, the parent company of Facebook, banning several accounts and pages citing coordinated inauthentic behaviour.

On Monday, the state minister told Dhaka Tribune that Meta is tarnishing its reputation.

“They need to be cautious and accountable for their actions. If they fail to conduct impartial investigations, they will face consequences,” Arafat added.

He said a letter will be sent to Meta authorities seeking an explanation regarding the closure of the accounts and pages.

On Thursday, Facebook disclosed that it removed “50 accounts and 98 pages for violating its policy against coordinated inauthentic behaviour.”

However, Awami League condemned Facebook’s decision, accusing the social media platform of failing to stop the circulation of hate speech and instigation for communal violence for years in Bangladesh.

 “Meta’s actions in Bangladesh involve the use of certain individuals. While it may seem apparent that those speaking in favor of the Awami League and against the BNP are likely affiliated with the Awami League,” commenting on the Meta report, Arafat further said, indicating a one-sided report by Meta.

Arafat, who is also a member of the central executive committee of Awami League, urged Meta to scrutinize the political identities of the individuals who prepared and provided data for the report.

The state minister said: “Meta claims they have not found the identity of those who run these accounts.”

He criticized Meta for not providing clear evidence for their claims and called the report contradictory, noting that Awami League supporters primarily discuss BNP corruption.

He questioned why deceptive BNP pages were not addressed and accused Meta of blindly accepting misinformation propagated by individuals abroad under different names.

“If Meta supports these Jamaat camps or Razakars, we will shut them down if needed. In several countries, WhatsApp are restricted, especially in the Middle East. Meta and Facebook are also restricted in many places. They must abide by our laws, or they won’t operate here,” Arafat added.

Earlier, Awami League Office Secretary Barrister Biplob Barua criticized the report, saying: “This is a politically biased report. The political identity of those through whom Facebook conducted its investigation or collected information should be examined. I did not expect this from an organization like Facebook.”

Referring to a series of failures on the part of Facebook authorities to comply with guidelines in different parts across the globe, Tonmoy Ahmed, coordinator of the Awami League web team and CRI, came up with a clarification about Meta’s failure to contain the unbridled flow of disinformation against Awami League and the leadership on the same platform.