Rohingya refugees from Myanmar are suing Meta Platforms Inc, formerly known as Facebook, for $150 billion over allegations that the social media company did not take action against anti-Rohingya hate speech that contributed to violence.
On Monday, a US class-action complaint filed by law firms Edelson PC and Fields PLLC argues that the company’s failures to police content and its platform’s decision contributed to real-world violence faced by the Rohingya community. In coordinated action, British lawyers also submitted a letter of notice to Facebook’s London office.
Facebook did not respond to a comment about the lawsuits. The company has stated that it was “too slow to prevent misinformation and hate” in Myanmar and has stated that it has since taken steps to crack down on platform abuses in the region, including banning the military from Facebook and Instagram after the February 1 coup.
