On Wednesday, a federal judge ordered that Facebook hand over records related to accounts shut down in 2018 that were linked to violence in Myanmar. According to the ruling, the accounts were linked to government-backed violence against the Muslim Rohingya minority in Myanmar. Facebook has been struggling to mitigate the unforeseen effects its platform has conflicted on the real world. The ruling was decided by a magistrate judge in Washington who criticized the social media platform for refusing to provide the records to countries pursuing a case against Myanmar in an international court. The magistrate stated that the failure to pass over records compounds the tragedy that has already affected the minority group.
Facebook had allegedly resisted the original request for information regarding the closed accounts, stating that providing the documents due to a civil subpoena would violate US privacy law. The Washington judge, however, stated that deleted posts do not fall under legal protections. The ruling may be appealed by Facebook to a district judge, however, the case is among the first from a federal court requiring that Facebook comply in handing over data to third parties about accounts that have been removed for rules violations, such as inauthentic behavior or spreading misinformation.
Read More: Facebook Ordered to Release Records on Closed Myanmar Accounts