Sada Social joins legal and human rights bodies to prosecute Facebook/Meta regarding anti-Palestinian bias

Bindmans, one of the largest law firms in London, mandated by the International Center for Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) has filed an official complaint to Facebook on behalf of Sada Social Center and a number of Palestinian journalists, writers and news agencies, regarding the arbitrary censorship measures being exercised by Facebook against Palestinian content as well as Suspension of accounts on the platform, according to a press release.

It is reported that the lawsuit calls on Facebook to review its procedures for suspending and closing Palestinian accounts, and whether an algorithm was used or left discretion to employees to make decisions to close Palestinian accounts. In the current stage, Palestinian parties and newly affected accounts have joined the complaint, which was raised by Sada Social against Facebook.

Sada Social Center stated that this lawsuit comes as a result of the intransigence of the Facebook administration in dealing with the complaints it receives from the center and other Palestinian parties interested in digital rights, account users, media organizations and press institutions.

Despite the commitments made by the Facebook administration, in its June 2021 letter, the censorship remained. In addition, the documentation conducted by Sada Social reveals that Facebook’s censorship of Palestinian-related content represents a broader problem that is far-reaching and systemic in nature.

Sada Social confirmed that the Facebook administration escalated its measures against Palestinian content in 2021 and complaints of violations during the past year alone amounted to more than 1593 violations, as the violations of Meta Company represented more than 64.4% of them.

Meta is now practicing a kind of prosecution against Palestinian accounts and it practices a flagrant bias in favor of the Israeli occupation. The Facebook administration responded to more than 90% of the occupation’s requests regarding Palestinian accounts, and it closed and imposed restrictions on hundreds of Palestinian accounts.

Facebook’s procedures extended to Palestinian media accounts and pages that are primary sources of information for the Palestinian public about Israeli crimes and violations against Palestinians.

Facebook’s campaign against Palestinian content reached its climax during the months of May and June 2021, coinciding with the focused Israeli aggression on Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood and the Gaza Strip.

Source: Palestine News & Information Agency