BCCL
In Brazil, Diego Dzodan — Facebook’s vice president for Latin America in 2016 — was arrested after refusing to hand over WhatsApp messages that the local authorities alleged had been sent by drug dealers. He was later released with the judge deeming his arrest an ‘unlawful coercion’.
In India, Facebook’s managing director, Ajit Mohan, wasn’t arrested but was named in a petition to the Supreme Court on Delhi Riots in 2020.
And, most recently, Twitter’s offices in New Delhi and Gurgaon were raided as the police looked into the matter of the social media platform’s ‘manipulated media’ tag.
There has always been a tussle between the ‘law of the land’ and social media platforms’ own regulations. Appointing local officers to address concerns puts them in the cross hairs of being pressured by the local authorities.
According to the Facebook Oversight Board, in their recent verdict on the suspension of former US President Donald Trump, social media companies need to take special measures to protect their employees from political pressure.
And, when you’re as big as Facebook or Google, political pressure is a given.