Parliament panel quizzes Facebook's Ankhi Das over tech giant's tax, revenue & profit

Parliament panel on Friday questioned the social media giant Facebook about its total revenue, profit, tax payouts in India amid accusations of Facebook's alleged bias in dealing with hate speeches. According to the sources, the popular social media platform was questioned about what proportion of their earnings is spent on ensuring data security in India. Apart from Facebook, the panel has also asked Twitter officials to summon in next week.  

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Facebook India's policy head appears before Parliament panel

Facebook India's policy head Ankhi Das was asked to appear before the Joint Committee of Parliament on Data Protection Bill, 2019, chaired by BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi. The sources have revealed that Ankhi Das was questioned for nearly two hours during which she was asked some of the toughest questions by the various political members. During the meeting, one of the members on the panel said that Facebook should not use the data of its users for the commercial benefits of its advertiser or for the electoral purposes. 

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India is considered as one of the biggest markets for Facebook in terms of its users. One of the members of the Parliament panel asked how much tax Facebook pays in India. During the meeting, various concerns were raised over allegations that the majority of the employees of the company in the United States were inclined towards one particular political party of the country.

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J&K govt summons Facebook India's head 

After Jammu resident, Vivek Sagar filed a complaint under the IT Act 2000, Jammu and Kashmir government on Thursday summoned the Facebook India managing director and a few other officials to appear before the adjudicating officer on November 12 in connection with a complaint of an alleged online cheating case. Vivek Sagar had filed a complaint against others including the company under the IT Act. The orders for appearance in person against Ajit Mohan, MD of Facebook India, and other respondents have been issued by adjudicating officer Simrandeep Singh, who is the Secretary to J&K government's Department of Information Technology.

The complaint was filed through Advocate Deepak Sharma of the J&K High Court. The notice for appearance among others was also issued to Director of Bajaj Finance Ltd, Director of Quadrant Televentures Ltd, and an SBI manager. In the complainant, Jammu resident alleged that Facebook and the other respondents have violated the provisions of the IT Act by cheating and defrauding the complainant as he was made to deposit Rs 20,700 for getting a loan at 4 per cent interest from Bajaj Finance Ltd.

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(With PTI inputs)