Facebook's India head of public policy Ankhi Das quits

Facebook's India head of public policy Ankhi Das on Tuesday announced that she has resigned from the company.

Das, who allegedly interfered in the company's hate speech policy to support the ruling Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP), announced her departure from the company via a post on her Facebook handle.

“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,” she wrote in the post. 

Additionally, she thanked the Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg in her the post announcing the news. “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,” she added.

While the former Facebook executive did not give details as to why she decided to leave the company, in her Facebook post she did say her decision came as she wanted to pursue ‘her personal interest in public service’.

Responding to the matter, Facebook India Vice President and Managing Director praised Das for her contributions and wished her well for the future.

“Ankhi has decided to step down from her role in Facebook to pursue her interest in public service. Ankhi was one of our earliest employees in India and played an instrumental role in the growth of the company and its services over the last 9 years. She has been a part of my leadership team over the last 2 years, a role in which she has made enormous contributions. We are grateful for her service and wish her the very best for the future.” Ajit Mohan, Vice President and Managing Director India said in a statement.

Notably, the development comes days after Facebook India appointed Sunil Abraham as the Public Policy, Director for Data and Emerging Tech. Announcing Abraham's appointment Facebook had said that he would help in building partnership and engagements with key stakeholders in the public policy area of data privacy and consumer protection in addition to spearheading the company's efforts to build AI-based products and services.

“As part of the public policy leadership team, Abraham will contribute to important policy development initiatives and proceedings in India and the South Asia region on data protection, privacy, new and emerging tech and represent Facebook's position in these multi-stakeholder processes,” said Facebook in a release.