Facebook's algorithmic systems
"promoted violence against the Rohingyas"
and Meta
"owes reparations"
to the victims for having allowed messages of hatred against this ethnic minority to spread on its platform, affirms the organization Amnesty International in a report released Thursday, September 29.
"The dangerous algorithms of Meta, which owns Facebook, as well as the unbridled pursuit of profit contributed significantly to the atrocities perpetrated by the Myanmar military against the Rohingya people in 2017"
, denounces Amnesty.
The human rights organization believes that
"Meta knew or should have known that Facebook's algorithm systems were amplifying the spread of harmful anti-Rohingya content in Myanmar"
, but
"this company refrained from 'to act".
makeshift camps
In 2017, hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims fled a bloody crackdown by the army and Buddhist militias in Burma.
Testimonies have reported murders, rapes and arson.
About 850,000 members of this Muslim minority live in makeshift camps in Bangladesh after fleeing.
Some 600,000 others are in Rakhine State, Burma.
"In the months and years leading up to these atrocities, Facebook's algorithms escalated the wave of hatred against the Rohingya, contributing to real-life violence
," said Agnès Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International. .
Meta has
"every interest"
in ensuring that Facebook users stay as long as possible on the platform,
"because this allows it to sell even more targeted advertising"
, notes Amnesty.
Three lawsuits
“While the Myanmar military was committing crimes against humanity against the Rohingyas, Meta was taking advantage of this sounding board created by his algorithms which induced a dizzying rise in the feeling of hatred. Meta must be accountable. This company now has the responsibility to provide reparation to all those who have suffered from the violence caused by its irresponsible actions
,” insists Amnesty.
Three complaints have been filed in the UK and the US by Rohingya representatives and are being investigated.
Organizations of young Rohingya refugees have also brought proceedings against Meta before the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
For Amnesty, it is
"absolutely essential"
that Meta carry out a
"vast reform of its algorithm systems (...) otherwise the drama that links Meta and the Rohingyas risks being reproduced elsewhere in the world, in particular where ethnic violence smolders”
.