Rohingya refugees sue Facebook for USD 150 billion, alleging role in violence
London, Dec 7: Rohingya refugees sued Facebook parent Meta Platforms for more than USD 150 billion over what they say was the company's failure to stop hateful posts that incited violence against the Muslim ethnic group by Myanmar's military rulers and their supporters.
Lawyers filed a class-action lawsuit Monday in California saying "Facebook's arrival in Myanmar helped spread hate speech, misinformation and incitement to violence that amounted to a substantial cause, and eventual perpetuation of, the Rohingya genocide."
Lawyers in the United Kingdom have issued notice of their intention to file a similar legal action. Facebook, which was recently renamed Meta, did not immediately, reply to a request for comment.
It's the latest in a series of accusations that the social media giant fueled misinformation and political violence, outlined in redacted internal documents obtained by a consortium of news organizations, including The Associated Press.
The combined legal claims from Rohingya refugees are being filed on behalf of anyone worldwide who survived the violence or had a relative who died from it.
The Rohingya are a Muslim ethnic group forced to flee persecution and violence in Myanmar starting in 2017, with an estimated 1 million living in refugee camps in neighboring Bangladesh. Some 10,000 have ended up in the United States.
In 2018, United Nations human rights experts investigating attacks against the Rohingya said Facebook had played a role in spreading hate speech.
More than 10,000 Rohingya have been killed and more than 150,000 were subject to physical violence, according to the law firms organizing the cases.
The lawsuits say Facebook's algorithms amplified hate speech against the Rohingya people and that it didn't spend enough money to hire moderators and fact checkers who spoke the local languages or understood the political situation.
They also say Facebook failed to shut accounts and pages or take down posts inciting violence or using hate speech directed at the ethnic group.
Facebook arrived in Myanmar in 2011, arranging for millions of residents to access the internet for the first time, according to the lawsuit filed in California Superior Court for San Mateo County. But the lawsuit says the company did little to warn people about the dangers of online misinformation and fake accounts tactics employed by the military in its campaign against the Rohingya.
The lawsuit says Facebook knew that rewarding users for posting dangerous content and allowing fake accounts created by autocrats to flourish would radicalize users.
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Liquor worth over Rs 42 cr seized along Gujarat borders in two years, govt informs assembly
Ahmedabad (PTI): Liquor worth more than Rs 42 crore was seized from checkposts along Gujarat's borders with Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan in the past two years, the state government informed the assembly on Monday.
Gujarat is a dry state where prohibition is in force.
Replying to a question by Congress MLA Imran Khedawala, Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi, who handles the Home portfolio, said 10,49,855 bottles of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) worth Rs 38.89 crore and 1,59,265 bottles of beer worth Rs 3.33 crore were seized in a two-year period ending January 25.
The seizures were made at checkposts located along the borders with Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, which are often used for smuggling liquor into Gujarat, Sanghavi said in his written reply, adding that 1,018 accused persons have been arrested so far and 141 are absconding.
Replying to a question raised by AAP MLA Gopal Italia, Sanghavi said more than 32,000 of cases have been registered against people found consuming liquor without permit in Ahmedabad and Vadodara districts over the past two years.
According to the data shared in the Assembly, 17,311 cases were registered against persons found consuming liquor without permit in Ahmedabad district, while 15,154 such cases were recorded in Vadodara district as of December 31, 2025.
The minister said the police have also taken various preventive measures against those supplying liquor to such consumers. These include increased patrolling in areas where people are repeatedly found consuming liquor, as well as prohibition drives conducted at the city, district and state levels.
Sanghavi said individuals frequently involved in illegal liquor activities are declared as "listed bootleggers", after which periodic raids are carried out against them.
If such persons continue to indulge in prohibition-related offences, strict measures such as cases under prohibition provisions, externment and action under Prevention of Anti-Social Activities (PASA) Act are initiated against them, he added.
Separate cases are also registered against those found supplying or manufacturing liquor illegally, Sanghavi told the assembly.
