Facebook is being sued for US$150bn by dozens of Rohingya refugees in the UK and US over its alleged conduct during the Myanmar genocide, which started in 2016.
The refugees, through lawyers in the UK and US allege that Facebook, which has recently rebranded to Meta, amplified hate speech towards the Muslim minority group and failed to invest in moderators and checkers.
It is also claimed the social media site neglected to take down posts that incited hatred and violence.
In the US, the legal complaint filed by lawyers in San Francisco accused Facebook of being “willing to trade the lives of the Rohingya people for better market penetration in a small country in Southeast Asia.”
Those allegations are in line with recent whistle-blower Frances Haugen claims, who said the company consistently prioritised profits over safety.
In 2018, Facebook had admitted it had not done enough to prevent the violence in the country, in which it has over 20 million users.