Mark Zuckerberg, Founder of Facebook will share the platform with Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries at the two-day Facebook Fuel for India 2020 event starting on Tuesday. Other top leaders from Facebook, including Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg, Adam Mosseri, Head of Instagram; Will Cathcart, Head of WhatsApp will also be speaking at the event.
“We want to tell the real story of Facebook in India so that people understood the scope of what we are trying to do through people and institutions who have leveraged our platforms, “ explained Ajit Mohan, Managing Director of Facebook India.
The event comes at a time when Facebook in India is facing scrutiny over its content regulation policies. The social media giant is also facing anti-trust proceedings in the US. Mohan said that while content regulation and anti-trust proceedings were real issues, it was only a small part of Facebook.
“We want to authentically share our story and let people decide who we are. We are being honest and sincere in telling everyone the good thing we are doing. It could be about helping a small business or users leveraging our platform for healthcare. There is a small proportion of hate speech or content but most of what we do is positive. Anti-trust issues in the US is real but it should not take away the positive impact that we are doing,” Mohan said.
When asked about increased scrutiny on tech companies Mohan said that this was part of the evolution. “The first few years of tech were all positive. The last few years it's gone the other way. Whenever any new tech comes in we have seen this swing from euphoria to pessimism. It invariably settles into balance. I see it as fair and reasonable that there is scrutiny on tech companies as part of a process to determine what should be the rules of the game,” Mohan said.
Despite regulatory challenges, Facebook’s India business has grown. According to regulatory filings by the company, gross advertisement revenues for FY19-20 were Rs 6,612.6 crore. Total income in FY 2019-20 was up by 43 per cent at Rs 1,277 crore . Net profit for FY19-20 was Rs 136 crore growing at 108 per cent over last year.
"India is in the midst of one of the most dynamic social and economic transformations the world has ever seen. Call it a pivot, a moment in time or a movement in history, for us it’s a story we are excited to be a part of, one that inspires us every day," Facebook said in a post.