29% Deem $150 Billion a Reasonable Amount for Lawsuit

As a minority in Myanmar, the Rohingya people have faced severe persecution in recent years. From genocides to military crackdowns, the refugees of Rohingya are living with constant fear. Recently, Meta faced a lawsuit worth $150 billion from some Rohingya refugees in the UK and the US.

The lawsuit was allegedly for allowing hateful speech posted against them on Facebook. Consequently, people have their opinions about the politics against the Rohingya refugees. Thus, Real Research, an online survey application launched a survey on Rohingya refugees filing lawsuits against Facebook. Here are the results.

Highlights

• 26.69% say the government’s bias and failure as a governing body caused the strife.
• 25.19% say Meta could assign an active team to control hate speech on its platform.
• 55.21% feel that freedom of expression should be recognized and allowed for all.

Many Are Aware of the Lawsuit Filed Against Facebook

To begin, the survey asks if respondents are aware of the Rohingya. In reply, 48.67% say ‘yes’ while 51.33% say ‘no’. The survey then asks if respondents are aware of Rohingya refugees filing lawsuit against Facebook. On this, 50.74% said ‘no’ and 49.26% said ‘yes’.

Next, the survey asks respondents why they believe the military crackdown that killed 10,000 Rohingya Muslims occurred in the first place. In response, the majority (26.69%) say it is due to the government’s bias and failure as a governing body.

Moreover, 21.96% point at religious differences, 6.99% highlight conflicts over land, and 4.77% say it is due to conflicts over resources. Adding on, 3.79% blame the group’s ‘tragic history’ and 2.95% believe it is the propaganda within the majority.

Respondents’ on Whether the $150 Billion Lawsuit Is Reasonable

Next, the survey asks respondents if they feel the lawsuit amount of $150 billion is reasonable or not. Here, 29.13% say ‘extremely reasonable’ while 28.93% say ‘somewhat reasonable’. However, 25.32% feel the amount is ‘unreasonable’ and 16.62% say ‘extremely unreasonable’.

Following after, the survey asks whether Facebook should be responsible for the hate speech that was in local languages. In response, 34.55% feel the MNC Facebook can hire local speakers to improve programming. Likewise, 20.97% say ‘yes, they have resources to follow through with every language’. In contrast, 13.19% say ‘no, there are thousands of languages, they cannot cover everything’.

The survey then asks what Meta should do to control hate speech on Facebook. A majority of 25.19% suggest operating an active team to regulate all its posts. Meanwhile, 21.32% say it should mobilize a squad to find & lock down perpetrators and actively help the community.

Moreover, 17.66% say since Facebook is one of the biggest online news sources in Myanmar, it should pay special attention to it. Lastly, 3.53% feel ‘Facebook is not responsible for the acts of its users, it is the government’s duty’.

45.59% Say Unregulated Platforms Contribute To Hate Crimes

Following after, the survey asks if respondents feel unregulated social media platforms can contribute to boosting hate crimes. A majority of 45.59% said ‘yes’ while 17.63% said ‘no’. Next, the survey questions if respondents feel it is easier to propagate hate due to social media. All 45.45% said ‘yes’ whereas 17.38% said ‘no’.

To conclude, the survey asks about respondents’ views on freedom of expression and recognition of freedom of expression on social media platforms. More than half of respondents (55.21%) say ‘yes, freedom of expression should be recognized which allows users to upload any post they want’. In contrast, 44.79% said ‘no, even on social media, posts that affect social issues and human rights of others must be banned by the platform’.