California, Facebook has said it agrees with a
report that found it had failed to prevent its platform being used to
“incite offline violence” in Myanmar.
The independent report, commissioned by Facebook, said the
platform had created an “enabling environment” for the proliferation of
human rights abuse.
It comes after widespread violence against the Rohingya
minority, which the UN has said may amount to genocide.
The report said Facebook would have to “get it right” before 2020
elections.
Facebook has more than 18 million users in Myanmar. For many,
the social media site is their main or only way of getting and sharing
news.
The network said it had made progress in tackling its problems
in Myanmar, but that there was “more to do”.
Last year, the Myanmar military launched a violent crackdown in
Rakhine state after Rohingya militants carried out deadly attacks on
police posts.
Thousands of people died and more than 700,000 Rohingya fled
to neighbouring Bangladesh. There are also widespread allegations of
human rights abuses, including arbitrary killing, rape and burning of
land, the BBC reported.
Source: Oman News Agency