The social media
company, which is now called Meta, faces increasing scrutiny over its handling
of abuses on its services, particularly after whistleblower Frances Haugen
leaked internal documents showing its struggles monitoring problematic content
in countries where it was most likely to cause harm.
In a letter sent to
the company this month and made public Wednesday, rights groups, including
Amnesty International.
Human Rights Watch and India Civil Watch
International urged Facebook to release the report.
Gare Smith, partner and chair of global
business and human rights practice at the U.S. law firm Foley Hoag, which
Facebook commissioned to carry out the assessment, said: "Such projects
are complex, particularly in a country as diverse and large as India."
Meta's director of human rights policy
Miranda Sissons said in a statement: "Given the complexity of this work,
we want these assessments to be thorough. We will report annually on how we're
addressing human rights impacts, in line with our Human Rights Policy."
In November, rights groups told the Wall
Street Journal that the social media company had narrowed the draft report's
scope and was delaying the process.
A Meta spokesperson did not address Reuters
questions about these allegations or the timeline of the review. Foley Hoag's
Smith said the firm had "taken numerous steps to ensure the assessment is
completed fairly and independently."
Rights groups have for years raised alarms
about online hate speech and misinformation stoking tensions in India, the
company's largest market by number of users.
"As a result of the consistent and
continuous barrage of hate on social media, particularly on Facebook, Indian
Muslims have been practically dehumanized and rendered helpless and
voiceless," said Dr. Zafarul-Islam Khan, a former Chairman of Delhi
Minorities Commission, speaking at a press briefing organized by a group of
Facebook critics known as the Real Facebook Oversight Board.
Reuters' previous reporting on Myanmar and
other countries has investigated how Facebook has struggled to monitor content
across the world in different languages.
The company said last week it would
"assess the feasibility" of commissioning an independent human rights
assessment into its work in Ethiopia, after its oversight board recommended a
review of how its platforms have been used to spread content that heightens the
risk of violence there.