7.1 WARNINGS RECEIVED BY META THAT IT RISKED CONTRIBUTING TO MASS VIOLENCE IN MYANMAR As noted in Section 5.1 above, the Facebook platform played a prominent role in outbreaks of anti-Muslim violence in Myanmar both in 2012 and 2014 – and was even temporarily blocked by the authorities in 2014 in an effort to quell rising tensions and violence in Mandalay. In addition to these major incidents, Meta received multiple direct communications from experts and civil society activists warning it of the risk that it could contribute to a genocide or another form of mass violence unless it took urgent action to address emerging issues related to the use of the platform in Myanmar. Collectively, these warnings paint a damning picture of the extent of Meta’s repeated failure to act. These explicit warnings to Meta began as early as 2012, and continued through 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017, as outlined in detail below.258 7.1.1 TIMELINE OF INTERVENTIONS In November 2012, Htaike Htaike Aung, then programme director of Myanmar ICT for Development Organisation (MIDO), a local NGO, raised the issue of “hate speech” on the Facebook platform with Meta’s director of global public policy as part of a roundtable organized by Freedom House at the Internet Governance Forum in Baku, Azerbaijan.259 In October 2013, Htaike Htaike Aung reiterated her concerns at a Freedom House roundtable held at the Internet Governance Forum in Bali, Indonesia, which was attended by a number of Meta policy executives.260 In November 2013, academic and journalist Aela Callan was conducting a fellowship focusing on the issue of “hate speech” in Myanmar at Stanford University. She travelled to Menlo Park in late 2013 and secured a meeting with Meta’s Vice-President for Global Communications and Public Policy. At the meeting, she “raised explicitly this hate speech problem in Myanmar and urged them to take it seriously”.261 However, according to David Madden, founder of the Myanmar-based Phandeeyar foundation, the Meta staff member “wasn't that interested in the hate speech problem” because Myanmar was “seen as a tremendous market opportunity, certainly in terms of user growth”.262 In March 2014, Htaike Htaike Aung, accompanied by Aela Callan, had a meeting with staff from Meta’s ‘compassion team’ at Meta’s headquarters in Menlo Park, California, and made another attempt at convincing Meta to take action to address the escalating risks in Myanmar. 263 Also in March 2014, six Meta employees joined a call with academics and civil society experts to discuss concerns related to the spread of “hate speech” on the platform. Yangon-based academic Matt Schissler was invited by Harvard academic Susan Benesch to join the call and present on Myanmar. According to one account, Schissler “gave a stark recounting of how Facebook was hosting dangerous Islamophobia” and detailed ‘the dehumanizing and disturbing language people were using in posts and the doctored photos and misinformation being spread widely”.264 In April 2014, Meta’s compassion team held a virtual meeting with staff from MIDO, Aela Callan, Susan Benesch and Matt Schissler, where they discussed cooperating on the localization of Meta’s reporting tool for Facebook. A Facebook group was set up to support further consultation and engagement. Over the following Note: this timeline does not purport to include every relevant warning and intervention communicated to Meta in relation to emerging risks in Myanmar. Amnesty International is aware of several additional interventions which are not detailed in this timeline. 258 Briefing deck by Victoire Rio and Htaike Htaike Aung, 13 June 2022. Upcoming release on Myanmar Internet Project, myanmarinternet.info. 259 260 Briefing deck by Victoire Rio and Htaike Htaike Aung, 13 June 2022. Upcoming release on myanmarinternet.info. 261 PBS Frontline, The Facebook Dilemma, 19 June 2018, pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/interview/david-madden 262 PBS Frontline, The Facebook Dilemma, 19 June 2018, pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/interview/david-madden Briefing deck by Victoire Rio and Htaike Htaike Aung, 13 June 2022. Upcoming release on Myanmar Internet Project, myanmarinternet.info. 263 264 Sheera Frenkel & Cecilia Kang, An Ugly Truth: Inside Facebook’s Battle for Domination, 2021, p. 189. THE SOCIAL ATROCITY META AND THE RIGHT TO REMEDY FOR THE ROHINGYA Amnesty International 51