10 Things To Know About Ankhi Das Who Quit As Facebook India's Policy Head

Ankhi Das, Facebook India’s policy head, resigned from her position today to pursue her interests in public service. She said, after resigning, “I have decided to step down from Facebook after long service to its mission of connecting people and building communities to pursue my personal interest in public service,” as per a statement.

Here's all you need to know about Ankhi Das:

1. Ankhi Das is one of Facebook's oldest employees in India. She grew to become the policy head for India, South Asia and Central Asia. She quit after nine years on 27th October. She said, “When I joined Facebook in 2011, internet growth in the country was woefully low and I often wondered how social and economic asymmetries will be addressed. We were a small unlisted startup back then guided only by our mission and purpose to connect people in India. After nine long years, I feel that mission has largely been met. There is an enormous amount I have learnt from incredibly smart and talented people in the company, particularly from people on the policy team. This is a special company and a special group of people. Thank you, Mark for creating something beautiful for the world. I hope I have served you and the company well. I know we will be in touch on Facebook.”
2. Das was surrounded by a controversy when Wall Street Journal reported in August that she didn't impose hate-speech rules on some Hindu nationalist individual from BJP, implying her bias towards the right-wing.
3. The Wall Street Journal article sparked a huge controversy as Das was being blamed for her bias towards right-wing and the Congress and BJP indulged in a political war.
4. As the policy head, Das played a significant role in Facebook India by liasioning with the government, politicians and other political representatives. She also dealt with Facebook’s data security, privacy and safety issues in India.
5. Das has an experience of over 15 years in handling public policies and affairs in technological sectors. Before joining Facebook, she worked as Director of Public Policy, Legal and Corporate Affairs at Microsoft India.
6. Born in 1971 in Mumbai, Das graduated from Loretto College, University of Kolkata.
7. She completed her post-graduation in International Relations and Political Science in Jawahar Lal Nehru University (JNU).
8. Following the controversy, Das received death threats and derogatory comments on social media.
9. Das made to the headlines again for filing a complaint against some of the trollers in the Cyber Cell Unit of Delhi. “The content, which even includes my photograph is evidently threatening to my life and body and I fear for my safety as well as that of my family members.” Das had said in a statement. The complaint has been registered and the issue is under investigation.
10. On October 23, Ankhi Das and other representatives of social media giants were summoned by Parliamentary Committee set up by the government to look into the data privacy issue in the tech companies. The committee was led by Meenakshi Lekhi who questioned Das about the amount of fund being spent by Facebook to ensure the safety of the data. Das gave a detailed presentation on the same.