Zuckerberg’s Facebook will do “everything” to ensure “fair polls” in India

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said that the social networking giant would “do everything possible” to ensure fair polling in India and other countries, amid widespread allegations over the company’s alleged role in influencing the American presidential vote in 2016.

The assurance by Zuckerberg came at a US Senate hearing on Tuesday.

"2018 is an important year for the whole world. Several countries like India, Pakistan will have elections. We'll do everything possible to ensure these elections are safe," Zuckerberg said in the joint hearing of the Senate Judiciary and Commerce Committees in Washington.

Watch Zuckerberg’s testimony about fair polls below:

The role of Facebook in the Indian election process came under a scanner last month after it was revealed that political parties had enlisted the help of Britain-based political consultancy Cambridge Analytica (CA) to know voter preferences through user data available on Facebook.

The role that CA and its local subsidiary played in allegedly helping out several politicians has become a political hot potato. Both the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-led (BJP) coalition and main opposition Congress party accuse each other of roping in the British firm to their political advantage.

As of July 2017, India overtook the US to become Facebook’s biggest market, with 241 million users.

In the US, Facebook has been accused of compromising the data of 87 million users to the British firm. CA has been accused of working for the campaign team of Donald Trump and influencing the presidential vote in his favour.

Zuckerberg said at the hearing that the company was going through a “broader philosophical shift,” and would empower its users so they may take a “more proactive role in policing the ecosystem.”

An analysis on Zuckerberg’s remarks at the hearing in UK-based The Independent construed his comments as Facebook pitching for an increased role on digital media. "Zuckerberg told Congress that the solution to the Cambridge Analytica crisis is giving Facebook more power,” the headline of the piece said.

Zuckerberg’s appearance was part of a probe to look into the alleged Russian meddling in American elections, headed by former Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Robert Mueller since May last year.

According to reports in American media, Zuckerberg said at the hearing that he would welcome regulations if it was the “right regulation.”

Zuckerberg’s testimony was lauded on bourses, with the share price of Facebook increasing by 5% and the CEO’s net worth rising by $3 billion during the course of the hearing.