Bangladesh Urges Meta to Strengthen Measures Against Misinformation

Dhaka, 25 June 2025 — Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus has called on Meta to find more effective strategies to combat misinformation and hate speech on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Messenger, and WhatsApp.

"Misinformation is a serious problem," said the Chief Adviser during a meeting at the state guesthouse Jamuna on Wednesday evening. "You must find effective ways to address it. A single word can destabilize an entire nation, and some do this deliberately."

The Meta delegation included Simon Milner, Vice President of Public Policy for Asia Pacific, and Ruzan Sarwar, Public Policy Manager. They expressed Meta's readiness to work closely with the interim government of Bangladesh, especially ahead of the upcoming general elections.

Milner stated, “We’ve had a dedicated team for Bangladesh over the past five years, and we’re meeting various government and human rights agencies to better understand the local context.”

Professor Yunus emphasized both the potential and risks of platforms like Facebook: “While they can boost business growth, they can also be dangerous without ethical oversight.”

Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser on ICT, Faiez Ahmad Tayyeb, also urged greater integration of the Bangla language into Meta’s AI and LLM (large language models), highlighting the current over-reliance on English.

At a separate meeting on Tuesday with the ICT Division, Meta was asked to invest more in AI-based sentiment analysis and fact-checking tools in Bangla. Bangladesh also requested more human content moderators who understand the local language and culture to ensure better enforcement of community standards.

Additionally, Bangladesh has urged Meta to set up cache servers and edge routers inside the country to improve service quality, optimize bandwidth, and protect personally identifiable information (PII).

Officials from the Bangladesh Police and BTRC also attended Tuesday's meeting, requesting quicker response mechanisms for removing harmful posts. They also sought Meta's collaboration in improving detection systems for online threats, misinformation, hate-driven violence, and suicide warnings.

News Source: Chief Advisor, GOB Office