Facebook slapped down by Indian regulator over astroturf campaign

"Trai [ the Indian telecoms regulator] criticises Facebook for “reducing this meaningful consultative exercise designed to produce informed decisions in a transparent manner into a crudely majoritarian and orchestrated opinion poll” and for claiming to speak on behalf of the users who were told to respond to the consultation without, er, being shown any of the questions:

Equally of concern is your self-appointed spokesmanship on behalf of those who have sent responses to TRAI using your platform. IT is noticed that you have not been authorized by your users to speak on behalf of them collectively. No disclosure in the act of sending a message to TRAI using your platform to this effect has been issued to users. The only act to which such users have consented is the following: ‘By clicking Send Email, you agree to let Facebook send your name and this email to the TRAI.’

This does not in our view imply any consent on the part of the user to allow Facebook to speak on their behalf as you have done, urging TRAI to hear ‘the voice of these millions of Indians.’"