Rohingya sue Facebook for $150 billion over Myanmar hate speech

London — Rohingya refugees launched coordinated legal action against Facebook in the U.S. and U.K. on Monday, alleging the tech giant contributed to ethnic cleansing in Myanmar by knowingly allowing hate speech to be spread on its platform. They are seeking over $150 billion in compensation.

In 2017, thousands of Rohingya Muslims, who have been persecuted in Buddhist-majority Myanmar for decades, were killed during a military crackdown. Around 700,000 Rohingya were forced to flee to neighboring Bangladesh, and there were widespread allegations of human rights abuses, including rape and torture. 

"Despite having been repeatedly alerted between 2013 and 2017 to the vast quantities of anti-Rohingya hate speech and misinformation on its system… Facebook barely reacted and devoted scant resources to addressing the issue," a complaint filed in a San Francisco court alleges. "The resulting Facebook-fueled anti-Rohingya sentiment motivated and enabled the military government of Myanmar to engage in a campaign of ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya," the complaint said.