Facebook-BJP controversy: Delhi police file case as exec cites ‘threat to life’

PTI, Aug 18, 2020, 11:20 AM IST

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New Delhi: The Delhi Police on Monday registered a case based on a complaint by senior Facebook India executive Ankhi Das that she has been receiving “violent threat to her life”, officials said.

Das, who is Facebook’s Director, Public Policy, India, South and Central Asia, had filed the complaint on Sunday, they said.

Based on the complaint, a case has been registered under relevant sections of the law on Monday and investigation has been taken up by the Cyber Cell of the Delhi Police, said Anil Mittal, Additional PRO (Delhi Police).

A Facebook spokesperson said, “We take the safety and security of our employees seriously and care for their well-being. However, we do not comment on individual employee matters.”

In her complaint, Das alleged that several people were issuing “threats, making sexually coloured remarks and defaming her” through online posts.

According to the complaint, the threats are in relation to an article dated August 14, 2020, published in the Wall Street Journal.

In her complaint, Das stated she has been receiving threats ever since. “The content, which even includes my photograph is evidently threatening to my life and body and I fear for my safety as well as that of my family members. The content also maligns my reputation based on a news article and I am subjected to name-calling, cyber bullying and eve-teasing online,” she said.

Das alleged that she was intentionally vilified by the accused due to their “political affiliations” and are now engaging in online and offline abuse, subjecting her to “criminal intimidation and making sexually coloured remarks”.

The comments came as the ruling BJP and opposition Congress traded barbs over Facebook’s alleged bias towards the ruling dispensation.

While BJP accused the social media giant of censoring nationalist voices, opposition Congress seized on the Wall Street Journal report that alleged that Facebook’s content policies favour the ruling party.