End Facebook interference in India's democracy: Sonia Gandhi

Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday urged the government to put an end to the alleged "systematic interference" of Facebook and other social media giants in India's electoral politics.

Making a Zero Hour submission in the Lok Sabha, Sonia Gandhi referred to a report published in Al Jazeera and The Reporters' Collective claiming that Facebook had offered BJP cheaper deals for election advertisements as compared to other political parties.

"I urge the government to put an end to the systematic interference and influence of Facebook and other social media giants in the electoral politics of the world's largest democracy. This is beyond partisan politics," she said.

"The blatant manner in which social harmony is being disturbed by Facebook, with the connivance of the ruling establishment is dangerous for our democracy. Young and old minds alike are being filled with hate through emotionally charged disinformation and proxy advertising. Companies like Facebook are aware of this and are profiting from it. These reports show a growing nexus between big corporations, the ruling establishment and global social media giants like Facebook," she said.

"We need to protect democracy and social harmony regardless of who is in power," Sonia Gandhi added.

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