On PIL by Rohingyas against Facebook hate speech, Delhi HC says robust grievance redressal mechanism exists

New Delhi [India], January 31 : The Delhi High Court has passed an order on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) moved by two Rohingya refugees against hateful content and speeches that originate from India on the Facebook platform and said that as there is a robust grievance redressal mechanism in existence, the petitioners have an alternative efficacious remedy and are at liberty to avail themselves of the redressal mechanism as per IT Rules, 2021, with respect to any objectionable posts.
The bench of Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora, in an order passed on January 30, also said that "This court is also of the opinion that the petitioners suggestion, during the hearing, that there should be prior censorship of any publication of Rohingyas on Facebook is an example of 'a treatment that is worse than the disease'.
It is further settled law that where an act provides complete machinery for redressal, the aggrieved party is not permitted to abandon that machinery to invoke the jurisdiction of the High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution, said the Court.
Similarly, the reliefs sought against Meta Platforms Inc. are not maintainable as there is no allegation in the writ petition that the said respondents have failed to abide by its statutory obligations under the IT Rules 2021, added the court.
The court is of the opinion that, in view of the aforesaid rules, the direction sought by the petitioners to the Union of India to restrain Facebook from allegedly promoting, amplifying, and spreading hate speech covered by Sections 153 and 500 of the IPC and particularly hate speech against Rohingyas, does not arise for consideration, said the court order.
Senior Advocate Arvind Datar, who appeared for Facebook India during arguments, apprised the court that Facebook has taken measures and put in place mechanisms for removing objectionable posts as required under the IT Rules and has been furnishing monthly reports to the Government of India.
Advocate Datar stated that in the month of November 2023 alone, Facebook India pulled down more than 1 lakh objectionable posts in that month. He also stated that he specifically disputes the allegation of the petitioners that Facebook is propagating hate speech or making money out of hate speech.
Datar further submitted that magnifying of the news happens on account of the nature of the platform and is common to all social media intermediaries. He stated that, in fact, the Petitioners have failed to verify that the posts which have been referred, have been pulled down by Facebook in November 2023 itself and therefore, there is no cause of action to maintain the present petition, he added.
Senior Advocate Colin Gonsalves appeared for Rohingyas Petitioners and stated that the plea is seeking protection of the right to life of the members of the Rohingya community in Delhi and throughout the country who face violence as a result of the dissemination of hate remarks targeting them on the basis of their ethnicity and religion on the respondents platform, i.e., Facebook.
Advocate Gonsalves further stated that though the hate speech originates elsewhere, it gets magnified by the algorithms of Facebook so that the hate speech goes viral in India and abroad. He alleged that Facebook promotes hate speech as a part of its strategy to increase its revenue. He submitted that hate speech is a crime in India under Section 153-A(1)(b) of the IPC and even though respondent Facebook promises to make amends, it has failed to do so with the objective of enhancing its revenue by magnifying such hate speech.
He stated that the Islamophobic posts constitute hate speech and is a serious crime under Sections 153-B and 500 of the IPC.
The court order comes on a petition moved by two Rohingya refugees seeking direction from Facebook India and the Center to monitor and promptly suspend/remove hate speech and harmful content that originates in India from its platform.
The stateless Muslim Rohingya minority, having fled ethnic cleansing operations in Myanmar in 2017, is particularly vulnerable in India and Bangladesh. Bangladesh currently hosts 1 million Rohingya refugees in congested refugee camps located in Cox's Bazar on the border with Myanmar. The UNHCR reported that India was sheltering approximately 74,600 Rohingya refugees. The "Rohingya issue" is frequently used as a political tool in both the countries and as a result, it is the subject of large amounts of harmful content on Facebook, as the plea stated.