Can Facebook be blamed for pogroms against Rohingyas in Myanmar?
Lawsuits in America and Britain seek billions of dollars in damages
THAT FACEBOOK was used to spread rhetoric that incited carnage in Myanmar is hardly up for debate. According to the lead author of a UN report published in 2018 the firm’s platform played a “determining role” in the violence inflicted on Rohingya Muslims by marauding Buddhists. Facebook acknowledges that it did not do enough to prevent its services from being abused. But whether it is liable for what happened is a trickier question.
This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “Accounting for algorithms”
Asia December 11th 2021
- South-East Asia is awash in drugs
- Can Facebook be blamed for pogroms against Rohingyas in Myanmar?
- Many North Korean women outearn their husbands, but still do the chores
- Bipin Rawat, India’s chief of defence staff, is killed in a helicopter crash
- Myanmar’s generals want Aung San Suu Kyi locked up forever
From the December 11th 2021 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionDiscover more
Fathers are doing more child care in East Asia
About time, too
Ice Age antelopes surge back from the brink of extinction
Even better, these peers of sabre-toothed tigers can help with carbon capture
Indonesia’s Prabowo is desperate to impress Trump and Xi
The new president’s first foreign tour was a shambles
Is India’s education system the root of its problems?
A recent comparison with China suggests that may be so
Meet the outspoken maverick who could lead India
Nitin Gadkari, India’s highways minister, talks to The Economist
The Adani scandal takes the shine off Modi’s electoral success
The tycoon’s indictment clouds the prime minister’s prospects