Meta should immediately pay reparations to the Rohingya for the role that Facebook played in the ethnic cleansing of the persecuted minority group, Amnesty International said today, on the sixth anniversary of the Myanmar military\u2019s brutal operation during which they raped Rohingya women and girls, burned down entire villages, and killed thousands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Facebook\u2019s algorithms and Meta\u2019s ruthless pursuit of profit created an echo chamber that helped foment hatred of the Rohingya people and contributed to the conditions which forced the ethnic group to flee Myanmar en masse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\u201cSix years have gone by since Meta contributed to the terrible atrocities perpetrated against the Rohingya people. Yet although this stands out as one of the most egregious examples of a social media company\u2019s involvement in a human rights crisis, the Rohingya are still awaiting reparations from Meta,\u201d<\/em><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>said\u00a0<\/span>Pat de Br\u00fan<\/strong>, Head of Big Tech Accountability at Amnesty International.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
\n\u201cOur investigations have made it clear that Facebook\u2019s dangerous algorithms, which are hard-wired to drive \u201cengagement\u201d and corporate profits at all costs, actively fanned the flames of hate and contributed to mass violence as well as the forced displacement of over half the Rohingya population of Myanmar into neighbouring Bangladesh.<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
\n\u201cIt is high time Meta faced its responsibilities by paying reparations to the Rohingya and by fixing its business model to prevent this from happening again.\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Coincidentally, 25th August also marks an important step in holding Big Tech to account for its human rights impacts as it is when key provisions of the Digital Services Act <\/a>(DSA) come into force for major online platforms in the European Union. The DSA is a landmark piece of legislation aimed at strengthening rights in the digital age, which could create ripple effects far beyond the EU. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A personal plea to Meta and Mark Zuckerberg<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Today, Amnesty International<\/a> and Al Jazeera<\/a> publish a searing first-person account by Rohingya refugee Maung Sawyeddollah, who was forced to flee his village in Myanmar when he was just a teenager. He fled through torched villages and fields filled with dead bodies and now lives in the world\u2019s biggest refugee camp, Cox\u2019s Bazar in Bangladesh, with around a million of his people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a child, before the hate took root with the help of Facebook, he and his mostly Muslim Rohingya friends played happily with the mostly Buddhist Rakhine children from the neighbouring village \u2014 but that all changed when the military moved in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\u201cI\u2019d like to meet Mark Zuckerberg and his team. Maybe they\u2019d like to come and spend a night or two in the refugee camp?\u201d,\u00a0<\/span>Sawyeddollah writes<\/span><\/a>.\u201cI\u2019d tell them: \u2018Can\u2019t you see your role in our suffering? We asked you, repeatedly, to try and help make things better for us\u2026 Yet you ignore our pleas. Tell me, do you feel anything for us? Is it only about the data, is it only about the dollars?\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Background<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last year, Amnesty International published a report<\/a> detailing Meta\u2019s role in the atrocities committed against the Rohingya people by the Myanmar military in 2017. It revealed that even Facebook\u2019s internal studies dating back to 2012 indicated that Meta knew its algorithms could result in serious real-world harms. In 2016, Meta\u2019s own research clearly acknowledged that \u201cour recommendation systems grow the problem\u201d of extremism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Beginning in August 2017, the Myanmar security forces undertook a brutal campaign of ethnic cleansing against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar\u2019s Rakhine State. They unlawfully killed thousands of Rohingya, including young children; raped and committed other sexual violence against Rohingya women and girls; tortured Rohingya men and boys in detention sites; and burned down hundreds of Rohingya villages. The violence pushed over 700,000 Rohingya \u2014 more than half the Rohingya population living in northern Rakhine State at the beginning of the crisis \u2014 into neighbouring Bangladesh. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meta contributed to serious adverse human rights impacts suffered by the Rohingya in the context of the 2017 atrocities in Rakhine State and therefore has a responsibility under international human rights standards to provide an effective remedy to the community. This includes making necessary changes to its business model which can ensure this never happens again. All companies have a responsibility to respect all human rights wherever they operate in the world and throughout their operations. This is a widely recognized standard of expected conduct as set out in international business and human rights standards, including the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UN Guiding Principles) and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (OECD Guidelines).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Click HERE<\/a> to read Maung Sawyeddollah\u2019s first-person account and related content including an analysis by Pat de Br\u00fan, Head of Big Tech Accountability at Amnesty International.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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