Facebook removes 15 pages linked to Indian IT firm 'Silver Touch'

Facebook Inc on Monday said it took down 15 pages and accounts linked to individuals related to an Indian IT company called 'Silver Touch'.

"We removed 15 Facebook Pages, Groups and accounts that engaged in coordinated inauthentic behaviour in India and were linked to individuals associated with an Indian IT firm, Silver Touch," the social media giant said in a statement.

Facebook said it removed 12 accounts and one page, plus one group and one Instagram account, linked to individuals related to Silver Touch.

However, Reuters news agency has claimed that Silver Touch is associated with Narendra Modi's mobile application, the 'NaMo App'.

Asked about Silver Touch's link with politics, Facebook's head of cybersecurity policy Nathaniel Gleicher told Reuters that the social media giant was only aware that it was an Indian IT firm which worked for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government.

"The only link Facebook saw was that the company was associated with a mobile application promoted by Modi," Gleicher said, without elucidating further.

Earlier today, Facebook announced that it removed 687 pages and accounts linked to the Congress party for "coordinated inauthentic behaviour".

"We removed 687 Facebook Pages and accounts -- the majority of which had already been detected and suspended by our automated systems -- that engaged in coordinated inauthentic behaviour in India and were linked to individuals associated with an IT Cell of the Indian National Congress (INC)," Gleicher said in a statement.

Gleicher also stated that the social media giant has taken the step of removing the accounts on the basis of their behaviour and not their content.

The US-based social media platform added that its investigation found individuals using fake accounts to spread content, criticising Prime Minister Modi and the BJP.

"While the people behind this activity attempted to conceal their identities, our review found that it was connected to individuals associated with an INC IT Cell," the statement noted.

The Congress party, however, denied the allegations.

"We don't react to the news reports which may just be coming in, whether there are any Facebook pages which are linked to us. We will have to check and get back to you. We will have to check the veracity of the report. I don't think any news organisation can claim that what they print is gospel, we have the right to check what has been published," Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari told reporters in New Delhi earlier today.

In recent times, Facebook has taken firm steps to regulate political advertisements in order to ensure that the platform is not used for spreading misinformation at a time when general elections in the world's largest democracy are around the corner.