Facebook India policy head Ankhi Das, whose name came up in a recent controversy over alleged bias by the social networking giant in dealing with hate speeches, has stepped down from her post, according to a social media giant’s Managing Director India Ajit Mohan. In a statement, Mohan 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.”
Das has been a part of Facebook’s leadership team over the last 2 years.
This comes months after the Congress, on the basis of Wall Street Journal, accused Public Policy Director, Facebook India, Ankhi Das, of allegedly obstructing action on hate posts and speeches.
The Congress claimed that Rashmi Das, a close relative of Ankhi Das, had been the president of ABVP, the student wing of the RSS at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). Das had recently appeared before the Joint Committee of Parliament that is examining the draft Data Protection Bill.
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 Das—suggested to the company that punishing such violations by BJP workers “would damage (its) business prospects”.