Parliamentary panel on IT wants to call Facebook whistle-blowers to depose before it

During the meeting, many members took the view that both whistle-blowers be called before the panel to brief it about their findings, they said.

Some members of a parliamentary panel looking into the issue of hate speech on Facebook on Monday expressed the view that whistle-blowers Sophie Zhang and Frances Haugen, who have flagged bias and lack of proper regulation on the social media platform, be called to depose before it, sources said.

Top officials of Facebook India, including its Public Policy Director Shivnath Thukral, on Monday deposed before the panel on the subject of "safeguarding citizens’ rights and prevention of misuse of social/online news media platforms including special emphasis on women security".

In the meeting, some members of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology asked them questions about hate speech in reference to the dossiers shared by Ms. Zhang with the committee, sources said, adding that the parliamentarians did not get convincing response from the executives of the social media giant.