The violence of the virtual to the real.
Rohingya refugees filed a complaint on Monday against Facebook, which they accuse of having allowed hate messages targeting this ethnic minority to spread on its platform.
The lawsuit, filed in a court in California - where the social network is headquartered - claims that algorithms used by the tech giant have fostered disinformation and extremist ideologies, which have resulted in violent acts in the real world.
"Facebook is like a robot programmed with a single mission: to develop", write the complainants.
"The undeniable reality is that the growth of Facebook, fueled by hatred, division and disinformation, has left in its wake hundreds of thousands of Rohingya lives devastated", continues the document consulted by AFP.
Extremist escalation
The collective complaint asserts that the algorithms of Mark Zuckerberg's social network push certain user profiles towards groups even more extremist than they already are, an ideal situation for "the leaders and autocratic regimes".
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Human rights organizations have long criticized Facebook for not being sufficiently involved in the fight against disinformation and false information.
Some critics claim that even when the platform is alerted to hateful content, it does not act, which they say leads to persecution of minorities and can even affect the outcome of some elections.
Little chance of success
Frances Haugen, a whistleblower who slammed the door on Facebook last May and denounces the practices of her former employer, told the US Congress that the network, whose parent company was recently renamed Meta, was fueling "violence ethnic ”in some countries.
Under US law, Facebook is unlikely to be held responsible for messages posted by its users. To get around this legal pitfall, the Rohingya complaint highlights the fact that Burmese law, which offers no such protection, should take precedence. Contacted by AFP, Facebook had not reacted on Monday evening to the announcement of this complaint.
Most of the Rohingya, a Muslim ethnic minority, took refuge in Bangladesh from 2017 after fleeing a violent campaign of repression in Burma, a predominantly Buddhist country where they are considered illegal, even though they are often present there. for generations.
Refusing to return to their country of origin until they are guaranteed security and equal rights, the refugees live in makeshift huts and unsanitary conditions.
