New Delhi:
Facebook executive Ankhi Das, whose name came up in a recent controversy over alleged bias by the social networking giant in dealing with hate speeches, has resigned from her position in the company, news agency Reuters reported on Tuesday evening.
Ms Das’ resignation comes weeks after both the company and she faced questions – both internally from employees and from the government – over how political content is regulated on the massively popular social media platform; Facebook has more than 300 million users in India alone.
Last week Ms Das appeared before a parliamentary panel – in connection with data privacy concerns – and was questioned for nearly two hours, sources told NDTV.
Facebook was told that it cannot use the personal data of citizens for “inferential” purposes in advertising or business or elections. MPs across parties reportedly asked specific questions on what percentage of Facebook’s revenue is spent on safeguards for data protection.
Ankhi Das had faced criticism after a US news report in August alleged that she had resisted applying hate-speech rules to a politician from the ruling BJP. When a panel of MPs summoned Facebook last month to explain the allegations, it was not Ankhi Das but the company’s business head Ajit Mohan who appeared and fielded questions.
With input from Reuters
