Facebook sued for $150bn by Rohingya over Myanmar hate speech
What you need to know
- Facebook has been sued for $150bn.
- A group of Rohingya refugees claims the platform allowed hate speech against them to spread.
- They say this contributed to the violence in the country that left thousands dead and many more displaced.
A group of Rohingya refugees has sued Facebook parent company, Meta, for $150bn over claims the platforms allowed hate speech against the group, contributing to genocide in Myanmar in 2017.
According to multiple reports, the group claims Facebook contributed to the 2017 genocide in the country. From The Times:
According to the BBC a UK law firm has sent a letter to Facebook, and a class action lawsuit has been filed against the company in San Francisco. The complaint states:
It is estimated that 10,000 Rohingya Muslims were killed in the 2017 Myanmar genocide, and 70,000 more were displaced. The lawsuit claims Facebook allowed anti-Rohingya sentiment and propaganda to perpetuate on its platform:
The suit says Facebook failed to take action and is still helping to propagate misinformation "to this day." As noted the prayers for relief seek "at least" $150bn in damages. The class represented is defined as "all Rohingya who left Burma (Myanmar) on or after June 1, 2012, and arrived in the United States under refugee status, or who sought asylum protection, and now reside in the United States."
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Stephen Warwick has written about Apple for five years at iMore and previously elsewhere. He covers all of iMore's latest breaking news regarding all of Apple's products and services, both hardware and software. Stephen has interviewed industry experts in a range of fields including finance, litigation, security, and more. He also specializes in curating and reviewing audio hardware and has experience beyond journalism in sound engineering, production, and design. Before becoming a writer Stephen studied Ancient History at University and also worked at Apple for more than two years. Stephen is also a host on the iMore show, a weekly podcast recorded live that discusses the latest in breaking Apple news, as well as featuring fun trivia about all things Apple. Follow him on Twitter @stephenwarwick9