Facebook won’t build data centres in countries with bad human rights records, except Singapore

Mark Zuckerberg promised in a lengthy blog post that the company wouldn’t build data centres in countries with poor human rights.

But he chose to ignore Singapore’s track record in human rights, declaring the city-state home to Facebook’s first data center in Asia to “serve everyone.”

“As we build our infrastructure around the world, we’ve chosen not to build data centres in countries that have a track record of violating human rights like privacy or freedom of expression,” said Mark Zuckerberg.

“If there are two things Singapore is known for, it’s that there’s no privacy nor freedom of expression,” according to Zach Whittaker of TechCrunch.

For all its glitz and economic success, Singapore’s human rights record falls far below internationally recognised norms.

The state, with a population of five million, consistently falls close to the bottom in worldwide rankings by rights groups for its oppressive laws against freedom of speech, limited rights to privacy under its expanding surveillance system, horrendous treatment of those in the LGBT community along with suppressed media freedom and threats of defamation lawsuits by the government.

Reporters Without Borders said Singapore has an “intolerant government,” and Human Rights Watch called some of the country’s more restrictive laws “draconian.”

The government in Singapore retains broad powers to limit citizens’ rights and to inhibit political opposition. In 2018, Singapore was ranked 151th out of 180 nations by Reporters Without Borders in the Worldwide Press Freedom Index. (Thailand ranked 140th in the same report)

Responding to criticism of Facebook’s decision to set up data centres in the Asian city-state, Facebook rolled out a non-answer.

“Deciding where to locate a new data centre is a multi-year process that considers dozens of different factors, including access to renewable energy, connectivity, and a strong local talent pool,” said Facebook spokesperson Jennifer Hakes.

“An essential factor, however, is ensuring that we can protect any user data stored in the facility.”

Ironically, Facebook is often a target for Singapore’s government to crack down on vocal opponents of its draconian laws. Additionally ironic is the Singapore government’s heavy use of local social media as a means of spreading its news and propaganda.

Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Linode, DigitalOcean and OVH all have data centres located in Singapore.

SOURCE: TechCrunch